Ocean Winds has launched OW Brasil, a local developer focused on offshore wind opportunities in Brazil.
Following a study by EPE that found Brazil has the potential of 700GW of offshore wind, Ocean Winds started to license five new offshore wind projects for a total capacity of 15GW, in 2020.
The sites are in the states of Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul.
With the support of its sponsors; Engie, which is the second largest private-sector power company in Brazil, and EDPR, with 795MW of installed wind and solar capacity in the country, Ocean Winds is seeking authorisations for “Licença Prévia” (Environmental Permits) at IBAMA for several projects.
They are: Vento Tupi (1GW), Maral (2GW), Ventos do Atlântico (5GW), Tramandaí offshore (700MW) and Ventos do Sul (6.5GW).
Ocean Winds CEO Bautista Rodríguez said: “With a 11.2GW portfolio of projects in seven countries, OW positioned itself as a pioneer leader in the offshore wind sector and aims at expanding its footprint.
“OW performs a strict market analysis and selection to ensure only countries with strong fundamentals are selected, and since 2020 Brazil shows a high potential for offshore wind projects.
“This is reinforced by the latest steps taken in the right direction for regulatory framework for offshore wind development in the country.”
Rodríguez added: “The development of this new sector of activity in Brazil is an important opportunity to meet the growing demand for energy, develop green hydrogen projects, diversify the energy matrix, and thus ensure the country’s energy security with a renewable source that has a competitive cost for the consumer compared to fossil sources.”