Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has opened a public consultation on the proposed methodology for selecting the areas that will be allocated for offshore wind development.
The methodology involves identifying and designating bidding areas within which project sites can then be proposed, and sets out a selection process that would be done in three stages.
The first stage would identify larger viable areas by excluding those with legal or technological impediments. In the second stage, the government would define Areas of Interest by excluding areas that have technological and economic restrictions, as well as highly sensitive areas. In the final stage, based on the classification of the areas resulting from the previous stage, areas to be defined as Sectors for Supply would be prioritised.
The public consultation is open until 1 September.
According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy , the idea is to ensure that new offshore energy projects are done in a planned and responsible way, taking care of the environment, respecting fishing, navigation and benefiting the communities that live near the coast.
The methodology for identifying and allocating offshore wind areas is being set up under the provisions of the bill that was signed into law on 10 January 2025, which establishes regulations on allocating and permitting offshore wind development areas.
While the country does not yet have any offshore wind farms, Brazil’s Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA) is processing more than 100 applications for investigation licences, submitted for projects proposed in several states.
In June, IBAMA awarded the country’s first preliminary investigation licence for an offshore wind project, a pilot offshore wind farm developed by the Rio Grande do Norte branch of the SENAI Institute of Innovation in Renewable Energy (ISI-ER).
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