Brazil Steps Further Ahead in Offshore Wind With Five New Projects
Global offshore wind developer Corio Generation is expanding its footprint to South America with plans to build five projects in Brazil. Taken together, they will have a combined capacity of more than five gigawatts, adding to Brazil's 97.4 GW list of projects in planning.
Corio, which is a portfolio company of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), is partnering with Brazilian power generation company Servtec, which has been in the renewables sector for more than 20 years. Corio and Servtec intend to apply for leases for five fixed-bottom projects in the country’s northeastern, southeastern and southern maritime areas, ranging from about 500 MW to over 1.2 GW in installed capacity.
The projects are the 1.2 GW Costa Nordeste wind farm off the north-eastern state of Ceara, 495 MW Vitoria wind farm off south-eastern state of Espirito Santo and the 1.2 GW Guarita. The others are the 1.2 GW Cassino and 1.1 GW Rio Grande wind farms, both off the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
“Brazil is blessed with immense wind resources along its coastline, offering a vital new source of clean, affordable and reliable energy. We see a huge opportunity for harnessing Brazil’s ocean wind energy, bringing economic investment and green jobs to the country,” said Jonathan Cole, Corio Generation CEO.
The investment in Brazil comes soon after Corio announced plans for a giant 2.5 GW windfarm off the coast of Victoria, Australia, which would supply enough clean energy for around 1.6 million homes. Corio boasts a global portfolio of more than 20 GW of offshore wind projects in Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Brazil is rolling out plans to diversify renewable energy mix, with a focus on offshore wind. In a January decree, the federal government introduced a new regulatory framework for offshore wind, and it took effect in June. The country has favorable wind speeds along its coastline and is emerging as a major new growth market for offshore wind. Brazil wants to identify new sources of low-cost renewable energy, and it has to satisfy rising electricity demand in heavily populated coastal areas - an ideal combination for offshore wind demand.
The Renewables Consulting Group's 2021 Global Offshore Wind Annual Market Report shows that Brazil is the epicenter of future offshore wind development - ahead of well-established countries like the United Kingdom, Vietnam, China and Taiwan.