TotalEnergies plans to install 9 GW of offshore wind capacity in Brazil, according to local media, which reports the France-headquartered oil major is looking to develop three projects in the country, each with an installed capacity of 3 GW.
EPBR reports that TotalEnergies is eyeing building wind farms offshore the states of Ceará, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul.
TotalEnergies, which recently took over the offshore wind developments in the US for which it won lease rights together with German EnBW, now has 12 GW of offshore wind projects planned for the Americas region, as the company said its US lease area could accommodate at least 3 GW of installed offshore wind capacity.
The news on the company’s plans in Brazil emerged at the end of March, shortly after Shell unveiled its six offshore wind projects in Brazil, three of which are in the same states where TotalEnergies is reported to be developing its projects.
Aside from Shell, TotalEnergies is joining another oil major with offshore wind plans in the country, Equinor.
Namely, in Summer 2020, Equinor submitted applications for environmental impact assessments with the country’s Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA) for projects offshore Espírito Santo and Rio De Janeiro, the latter being the state where all three oil and gas companies are now looking to build offshore wind farms.
Furthermore, the Government of the Brazilian state of Ceará, where TotalEnergies plans to build one 3 GW project, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China’s MingYang Smart Energy with a goal to develop an ”offshore wind complex” in the state.
In January, the Government of Brazil issued a Decree which will enable the implementation of necessary offshore studies and the identification of areas suitable for the development of offshore wind projects.
Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy will be in charge of carrying out the studies, selecting the offshore wind zones, as well as organising subsequent auctions.
This Decree will come into force on 15 June.