By Celso Chagas
(BrasilEnergia) The intentions of the Rio de Janeiro government to stimulate the development of the offshore wind sector in the state guided the participation of Sérgio Coelho, Deputy Undersecretary of Energy, at South America Offshore Wind 2024.
According to him, the biggest problem for unlocking the offshore wind sector is not only the regulation of the sector, but also the implementation of policies to allow correct signaling to investors. “The state can do this by creating incentives, and I am not talking about subsidies. Our role is to create public policy to encourage investment,” he pointed out.
Coelho mentioned the Protocol of Intentions signed with Petrobras as one of the initiatives that will help establish a local offshore industry. The cooperation agreement, signed in June of this year by the State Secretariat for Energy and the Economy of the Sea (Seenemar) with the company, aims to conduct studies on the feasibility of implementing a pilot offshore wind energy project in the state, aligning the project with state programs and policies and promoting actions to improve the region where it will be implemented. Sérgio highlighted that, shortly after the partnership was formalized, a working group was created, with the participation of more than 70 companies, in addition to agencies and other interested bodies.
“We need to be challenged to understand the problems,” he said, citing the ability to address the demands of businesspeople to create a supply chain. “In the municipality of Macaé alone, there are 4,500 companies that serve the oil chain and have full capacity to serve this new market,” he explained.
The agreement will also assess aspects of offshore wind generation, in order to identify its bottlenecks and technical challenges, considering the particularities of one of the regions of the country with the greatest potential for offshore generation, which also has the potential for integration with the decarbonization of Petrobras’ E&P activities.
Finally, according to the undersecretary, the project will also serve to mitigate risks for the installation of a new industry in Rio de Janeiro, which has potential to be explored. “We already have the competitive factors. The state has demand routes, excellent wind resources, is the second largest energy load center in Brazil, a very large port infrastructure, with emphasis on the Port of Açu, universities, research centers and 50 years of experience in offshore oil”, he listed.
See original article: https://brasilenergia.com.br/energia/eolica/seenemar-governo-do-rj-quer-desenvolver-politicas-para-encorajar-investimentos