Brazilian state-controlled oil firm Petrobras has revealed plans to develop offshore wind farms with a potential capacity of up to 23 GW.
The company has applied for environmental licensing with the Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) for ten areas off the Brazilian coast.
Of this total, seven areas are in the Northeast – three in Rio Grande do Norte, three in Ceará and one in Maranhão; two in the Southeast – one in Rio de Janeiro and one in Espírito Santo and one in the South of the country in Rio Grande do Sul.
The area chosen in the state of Rio de Janeiro stands out from all the others already filed with IBAMA as it involves floating foundations. The feasibility of this project would open up possibilities for integrating and supplying energy to the company’s production platforms.
The move sees Petrobras becoming the company with the greatest potential for offshore wind power generation in Brazil in terms of capacity registered with IBAMA. It also follows the announcement of a partnership with motor maker WEG on Wednesday to develop the most powerful wind turbine made in the country.
Petrobras said the request to start licensing was a sign of its interest in developing its own projects, in addition to partnership projects such as the seven areas being studied jointly with Equinor with the potential to generate up to 14.5 GW.
