Opportunities in Wind Energy

Porto Alegre, will host from 21- 26 June the 14th International Conference on Wind

Engineering (ICWE 14, the previous edition, in 2011, was held in Amsterdam). Porto Alegre, in

the South of Brazil, is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, one of the states with a very promising

potential of Wind Energy. The most important events in this period, the 13th ICWE and

General Assembly, were held in Amsterdam in 2011. At the General Assembly during ICWE13,

after bids from the USA, Canada and Brazil, Brazil was selected as the host country for ICWE14.

http://www.icwe14.org/

Brazil is facing a severe energy crisis over the last decade. Investments in new generation have

not accompanied the growth of the economy and droughts have demonstrated the danger of

the dependency (around 80%) on hydropower. As such, there is an increasing interest for

wind energy.

Today, almost 4% of the installed electric energy generation in Brazil comes from wind energy

(5 GW out of 134 GW total). But, wind energy is rapidly gaining volume and competiveness.

Only the State of Rio Grande do Sul has a potential for wind energy of 100 GW onshore. With

already several wind parks installed, the state counts with excellent expertise (including wind

tunnel), suppliers and infrastructure (both for the implementation as for the connection to the

grid). Another – future – asset is offshore wind energy. Besides, pending on environmental

regulation, there is an estimated volume of 115 GW offshore, which can be installed near to

the coast as well in the swallow lakes of Lagoa dos Patos and Lagoa Mirim.

Reported by: Remon Daniel Boef and Luiz Bueno de Freitas Filho

Chief Rep and Deputy Rep NBSO Brazil – Porto Alegre

25 feb 2015