The wind farms will be built in the Agua Doce and Bom Jardim municipalities of the Santa Catarina state and will have a total installed capacity of 222 MW. According to the bank, the wind farms will be operational by the end of 2010.
The 10 new wind farms, which will be built by the Argentine IMPSA Group, are expected to create 150 jobs at this stage and more people will be employed once then are operational, said the bank.
According to the Global Wind Energy Council, Brazil had 360 MW of installed wind capacity by mid-January 2009. Although it has historically relied heavily on its abundant hydro resources, the Brazilian government is aware that these resources are stretched due to economic and population growth, demographic expansion into the interior of the country and climate change, and is focusing its attention on developing new renewable energy sources, especially wind.
Tremendous wind resource
In 2008, five new wind farms were added to the Brazilian system, most of which are located in the State of Ceará, in the North East of the country. Meanwhile, before 2008 there was only one wind turbine manufacturer in Brazil, but during the year, several other companies entered the market and now Brazil has four major wind turbine manufacturers (Wobben Enercon, Suzlon, Vestas and IMPSA) operating within its borders.
It is not surprising to see why. A wind atlas published by the Brazil’s Electric Power Research Centre in 2001 shows that the country has considerable potential for onshore wind energy capacity at 50 metres: 143 GW. New wind maps are also being prepared by the government based on measurements at 80-100 metres, which are expected to demonstrate a capacity which is even higher.
Aware of this potential and increasing foreign interest in the Brazilian wind energy market, the government is to hold a wind energy auction in the near future and is expected to call for up to 1,000 MW in generating capacity.
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