Brazil’s oil champion has joined its global counterparts in the clean energy race, putting into operation a commercial-scale wind farm in the Northeastern part of the country.
The wind farm’s energy is being delivered ahead of schedule following the completion of the Juriti unit, with the Potigar, Cabuji and Mangue Seco wind units going into operation through August and September. Power was originally intended to hit Brazil’s National Interconnected System in the middle of next year.
The 104 MW of power delivered from the 52 wind turbines in the total Mangue Seco wind farm installation cost 424 million reaials ($244 million). The wind farm was built in partnership with Electrobras, Alubar Energia and Wobbin WindPower.
The company, an increasingly large player in the oil sector as it develops huge offshore reserves, says the deployment of the farm “is aligned with Petrobras’ strategy of becoming an energy company with a high degree of environmental responsibility.”
Brazil overall has been a leader in renewable energy development, taking advantage of its huge hydroelectric potential and leveraging its advantageous growing climate to take a preeminent position in biofuels. Its Latin American competitors, including Colombia’s Ecopetrol, have taken an increasingly aggressive position in renewable fuels development and in pursuing biofuels markets, which could potentially access currently tariff-restricted US markets in the near term.
By investing in wind, Petrobras has joined international firms like BP, which has developed wind power in the US.
Photo Caption: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (center) raises both her arms during the inauguration of Petrobras’ P-56 platform.
