Petrobras has unveiled plans to develop wind farms offshore Brazil with a potential capacity of up to 23 GW, including a floating wind project in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian state oil and gas group has submitted a request with the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) to start the environmental licensing process for ten areas off the Brazilian coast.
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 for offshore wind projects, as it is the only one positioned at a water depth greater than 100 metres, where it is not possible to use fixed foundations, driven directly into the seabed, said Petrobras.
The installations have to be floating and their feasibility would open up possibilities for integrating and supplying energy to the company’s production platforms, according to the firm.
With this move, Petrobas becomes the company with the greatest potential for offshore wind power generation in Brazil in terms of capacity registered with IBAMA.
According to Petrobras, the company is already conducting the largest wind mapping campaign in Brazil, and this year, the oil firm completes a decade of offshore wind measurements and is intensifying wind measurement campaigns in some locations off the Brazilian coast.
This is the case, for example, with six platforms located in shallow waters off the coasts of the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, and Espírito Santo.
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Petrobras also added that 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.
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Read More: Petrobras Unveils 23 GW Wind Power Play Offshore Brazil