Wind Energy

Wind power in Brazil: 71 wind energy projects adding 1,805.7 MW of capacity

339 projects participated, totaling 10,000 MW. Those that surpassed U$S 108 per MW, were discarded. This was the first wind energy auction performed in the country, from which 773 wind turbines will enter operation in mid 2012, with a twenty year concession.

The Electrical Energy Camera of Commerce calculated that the wind farms will produce, in the first twenty years, a total of 132,015 GWh. According to calculations of the ministry of Mines and Energy, the required investment will go up U$S 5,389 million.

The price per MW/hour was the most important criterion in awarding the projects, and the Brazilian company Coxilha Negra, provided the best one at U$S 75.11 with a discount of 30.69% for the three wind parks that won in the south of the country.

The government will pay an approximate price of U$S 85.08 per MW, which represents a value 21.5% inferior to the top marked by the ministry. This will suppose contract negotiations for U$S 11,232 million throughout the twenty years.

The vast majority of the adjudged wind parks are concentrated in the northeast region of the country, the one with the best wind resources and also the poorest of Brazil.

In that zone, the states of Rio Grande do Norte stood out, with 23 approved parks, Ceará, with 21 wind farms, Bahia, with 18 new projects, and Sergipe, with one. The remaining eight wind farms will be installed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the South end of the country.

The national wind energy resource potential is estimated at around 250 GW, concentrated in the northeast, coastal south, and northwest of the major cities Rio, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte.

Until now, Brazil counts with 36 wind farms in operation with 602 MW, ten other projects with 256.4 MW are in the construction phase and another 45, with 2,139.7 MW, have been granted approval.

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