Brazil issues first licence for an offshore wind project

The preliminary licence is for an offshore wind test site off the coast of the municipality of Areia Branca, in Rio Grande do Norte. The facility will have an installed capacity of up to 24.5 MW.

The ‘68 RN-10 SENAI Test Site’ will be installed approximately 20 km off the coast and will use two wind turbines, one of 8.4 MW and one of 16 MW, both installed on bottom-fixed foundations.

Ibama described the licence as “a significant institutional milestone… the first federal environmental licence for an offshore wind test site in Brazil.” It said issuing the licence highlighted its role in the regulation of projects that form part of Brazil’s national energy transition.

The preliminary licence was issued after extensive analysis by a multidisciplinary technical team from Ibama. It was issued to the co-ordinator of the Institutional Development Plan at the Senai Institute for Innovation in Renewable Energy.

Ibama environmental licensing co-ordinator renewable energy Eduardo Wagner said the work culminating in the licence being issued began in 2017. He described the licence as, “a unique and necessary opportunity.”

As a result of the environmental assessment, impacts associated with the project were identified, which led to a number of recommendations to strengthen the environmental management plan associated with it.