Eletrobras and Ocean Winds sign partnership in offshore wind energy

Eletrobras signed the first Memorandum of Understanding to evaluate business opportunities in the generation of wind energy at sea.
Eletrobras and Ocean Winds (OW) signed this Tuesday (22/10) a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to evaluate business opportunities in offshore wind projects in Brazil.

This is Eletrobras’ first MoU in this segment. In December 2022, the Brazilian company signed a technical cooperation with Shell to exchange information for a possible co-investment and operation of offshore wind farms with the oil company.

OW, a 50-50 joint venture formed by EDP Renováveis ??????and ENGIE in 2020, dedicated to offshore wind energy, has 15 GW of projects with license applications from Ibama, in waters off Rio de Janeiro, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Rio Grande do Sul.
According to the companies, the alliance combines Ocean Winds’ experience in offshore wind projects – from origin to operation – with the experience of Eletrobras, the largest company in the electric sector in Latin America.

“Eletrobras aims to properly allocate its capital through the development of clean energy projects, contributing to the energy transition in Brazil and the world. Today, 97% of the energy generated by the company already comes from clean and renewable sources, and we will soon reach 100%, through the sale of thermal power plants in operation,” says Leonardo Soares Walter, director of M&A and Business Development at Eletrobras.

The executive assesses that the agreement with Ocean Winds allows for the development of a strategic cooperation to expand renewable sources in the country.
Globally, OW has a portfolio of 18.5 GW in offshore wind farms in eight countries. The group sees potential in Brazil to meet the growing demand for renewable energy in the long term.
234 GW in projects awaiting legal framework

As of April 2024, Brazil had just over 234 GW distributed across nearly 100 offshore wind farms with license applications from Ibama. Almost half of them overlap with some other off the Brazilian coast.

These projects depend on a series of legal definitions to be realized and the long wait for a regulatory framework is already beginning to discourage investors, including those in other related industries.

Approved by the Chamber at the end of 2023, PL 576/2021, the milestone for offshore wind farms, received a series of modifications that benefit thermal generation from natural gas and coal – the most polluting fossil sources – and now a decision by the Senate is pending.