Ibama grants the first preliminary license for an offshore wind project in Brazil

With an installed capacity of up to 24.5 megawatts, the Offshore Wind Turbine Test Site received its preliminary license from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) on Tuesday 24th. The structure will be implemented on the coast of the municipality of Areia Branca (RN). It is the first preliminary license for an offshore wind energy project in the country.

The document was delivered by the Director of Environmental Licensing, Claudia Barros, and by the acting president of Ibama, Jair Schmitt, to the coordinator of the Institutional Development Plan of the Senai Institute of Innovation in Renewable Energy, Antônio Medeiros, and to the regional director of Senai in Rio Grande do Norte, Rodrigo Mello.

According to information from Ibama, the preliminary license was granted after an “extensive analysis process” conducted by a multidisciplinary technical team from the institute, “with extensive experience in assessing environmental impacts”.

The work began in 2017, according to Eduardo Wagner, coordinator of Environmental Licensing for Renewable and Thermal Energy Generation. “It is a unique and necessary opportunity to build assessment methods within environmental licensing from the beginning, adequately considering the impacts on the social, biotic and physical environments,” he said.

The environmental assessment identified impacts associated with the project that prompted recommendations to strengthen the Environmental Management Plan. The document consists of 13 programs, with actions ranging from monitoring wildlife, underwater noise, social communication, to professional training, among other measures to ensure the sustainability of the project.

“The issuance of the preliminary license attests to the environmental viability of the project in its planning phase, subject to compliance with the requirements established by Ibama for the next stages of licensing,” highlighted Eduardo Wagner.

The preliminary license was issued at an event at Ibama’s headquarters in Brasília. For Claudia Barros, the institute’s Director of Environmental Licensing, the granting of the document represents an institutional milestone. “[The issuance] is an opportunity for us to generate knowledge and information about a sector that could take off in the coming years,” she emphasized.