Ocean Winds unveils 15GW Brazilian offshore wind plans

Ocean Winds has launched a Brazilian subsidiary to develop five offshore wind projects off the country’s north-east and south coasts with a combined capacity of more than 15GW.

The company’s newly formed OW Brasil unit started the licensing process for five new offshore wind projects in December 2020. 

It plans to build the projects off the states of Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte in the north of the country, and Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul in the south.

The projects are due to feature a mixture of fixed-bottom foundations and floating platforms.

OW Brasil is among a clutch of energy companies targeting offshore wind in Brazilian waters. Brazil recently topped a ranking of global offshore wind markets’ pipelines, with researchers at RCG identifying 97.4GW of projects under development.

OW Brasil – which is fully owned by Ocean Winds, the 50:50 joint venture of Engie and EDP Renewables – plans to build:

• The 6507MW Ventos do Sul Ventos do Sul (6507MW) Offshoreoff Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Central & South America Click to see full details project off Rio Grande do Sul. It is due to consist of two areas using fixed-bottom foundations and one using floating platforms. The project is slated to use 458 turbines – indicating an average power rating of about 14.3MW – in water depths ranging from 20 to 108 metres;
• The 5008MW Ventos do Atlântico Ventos do Atlântico (5008MW) Offshoreoff Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Central & South America Click to see full details project off Rio de Janeiro. It is due to consist of two phases. The first 837MW phase is due to use 61 turbines – indicating an average power rating of about 13.7MW – while the second 4,172MW phase would use 309 turbines – indicating an average power rating of about 13.5MW;
• The 2,102MW Maral project 17km off Rio Grande do Norte. It is slated to use 149 turbines – indicating an average power rating of about 14.1MW;
• The 999MW Vento Tupi Vento Tupi (999MW) Offshoreoff Piauí, Brazil, Central & South America Click to see full details project off Piauí. It is due to use 74 turbines – indicating an average power rating of 13.5MW;
• And the 700MW Tramandaí Offshore Tramandaí Offshore (700MW) Offshoreoff Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Central & South America Click to see full details project off Rio Grande do Sul.

It is unclear whether Ventos do Atlântico, Maral, Vento Tupi and Tramandaí Offshore will use floating platforms, fixed-bottom foundations or both.

Brazil is preparing a system for seabed licensing and plans to hold its first offshore wind auctions, with industry bodies expecting the country to award its first licences later this year.