TotalEnergies, Petrobras and Casa dos Ventos eye joint development of offshore wind, low-carbon hydrogen in Brazil
TotalEnergies, Petrobras and Casa dos Ventos Eye Joint Development of Offshore Wind in Brazil | Offshore Wind
TotalEnergies, Petrobras and Casa dos Ventos Eye Joint Development of Offshore Wind in Brazil
TotalEnergies, Petrobras and Casa dos Ventos Holding, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Casa dos Ventos, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to assess opportunities for joint development of low-carbon hydrogen and renewable energy projects in Brazil, including offshore wind.
Under the two-year agreement, the three companies will study opportunities for joint investment and offtake in onshore wind, offshore wind, solar and low-carbon hydrogen in the country, using the expertise of each company.
The three partners announced the signing of the MOU shortly after Petrobras unveiled plans to develop up to 23 GW of offshore wind projects in Brazil, including a floating wind farm offshore Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian oil and gas major has submitted a request to the country’s Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) to start the environmental licensing process for ten offshore areas.
TotalEnergies also has offshore wind plans in the country. The company has filed applications with the IBAMA for three areas totalling 9 GW, each with a planned capacity of 3 GW.
As reported in the premium section on Offshore Energy last year, the sites TotalEnergies is eyeing are located offshore Brazil’s states of Ceará, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul.
Brazil’s Petrobras and the French oil and gas company are already partners on exploration and production assets in Brazil, including Mero, Iara, Atapu and Sépia, and have maintained a strategic partnership in the country in the area of research and development since 2017, according to Petrobras.
“The extension of this partnership to the renewables area is a natural step and fits in with the strategy of both companies to advance the just energy transition. Casa dos Ventos, in turn, adds its expertise in the development of onshore wind and solar generation projects in the Brazilian market”, said Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates.
The joint venture between TotalEnergies and Casa dos Ventos, Casa dos Ventos Holding, has a 12 GW portfolio of wind and solar energy projects in Brazil, which will be developed in the coming years.
“Brazil is a great country for developing renewable energies. We are therefore delighted to join forces with Casa dos Ventos and Petrobras to identify potential synergies between our activities, and thus develop profitable renewables opportunities”, said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies will be an exhibitor at our Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC) in Amsterdam this November. Find out more about the exhibition, exhibitors and the conference programme on the OEEC 2023 page.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.