BRAZIL · ENERGY
Key Facts
- The country Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy and already gets most of its electricity from renewable sources.
- What happened Brazil’s state energy planner EPE flagged three coastal hotspots with the strongest winds for Brazil offshore wind farms.
- The hotspots They lie between Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte, off Rio de Janeiro, and from southern Santa Catarina to Rio Grande do Sul.
- The numbers Average winds in the hotspots run from 7.0 to 10.0 metres a second, and EPE sorted the coast into 20 wind regions.
- Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 75.0 points (October 2026 edition).
- What it means for you The map points developers to promising waters, but no sea area has been offered for auction yet.
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Brazil offshore wind now has a map of its three windiest zones, as Veja reported on Thursday. The state energy planner, Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE), calls them hotspots, and Canal Solar first covered its study in August.
For US energy firms and climate investors, the study is an early guide to where Brazil’s first sea-based wind farms could make the most power. It does not authorise any project, and the auction of sea areas has not started.
Where the Three Hotspots Lie
The first hotspot is a strip of sea between Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte in the northeast, according to Canal Solar. The other two lie off Rio de Janeiro and from southern Santa Catarina to Rio Grande do Sul.
In these zones the average wind speed ranges from 7.0 to 10.0 metres a second, Canal Solar reported. That is the range EPE treats as exceptional for placing turbines at sea.
EPE says each hotspot behaves differently, Canal Solar reported. The northeast has steadier winds from a clear direction, while Rio Grande do Sul shows the smallest swing between seasons.
How Brazil Offshore Wind Was Mapped
EPE, the energy ministry’s study arm, split the coast into 20 regions with similar winds, its technical note says. It compared three public data sets, ERA5, MERRA-2 and Global Wind Atlas, before choosing one.
ERA5 and MERRA-2 gave close results overall, but ERA5 offered finer spatial detail, so EPE chose it for the grouping work, Canal Solar said. The agency then used a statistical method called Ward clustering to group points that behave alike hour by hour and month by month.
The interactive dashboard that comes with the note lets users download wind records, wind roses and distribution data for each region. EPE publishes the content of its site under a Creative Commons licence that allows reuse with credit.
What the Wind Data Say About Seasons
Winds that matter for Brazil offshore wind tend to be stronger in the second half of the year, Canal Solar reported from the note. Speeds are usually lowest during the day, most often in the early afternoon.
Off Rio de Janeiro the winds are especially strong in January and February, Canal Solar reported from the note. The summary does not say how that timing fits electricity demand.
EPE also points to a chance that different regions could balance one another. A calm spell in one zone might coincide with a breeze in another, and sea wind could complement other sources such as hydropower and solar.
Why a Wind Map Is Not a Wind Farm
Veja stresses that a hotspot is not a licence, since the areas are not authorised for wind farms. Wind speed is only one factor next to the environment, infrastructure, other sea uses and costs.
Fishing, shipping and tourism share the same waters, and conservation areas and coastal communities must be weighed too. EPE’s selection method is meant to raise those questions early, but it does not replace environmental licensing.
Developers have already queued up for Brazil offshore wind sites. By late July, the federal environment agency Ibama was reviewing 17 proposals off Rio Grande do Sul and 16 off Ceará, O Povo reported.
The Rulebook Behind the Study
EPE’s method for choosing Brazil offshore wind areas follows Law 15,097 of 2025, which sets rules for using Brazil’s offshore energy potential, Veja said. The final version appeared in July 2026 after a public consultation run by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
That consultation drew about 400 contributions from 41 institutions, according to EPE. The technical note on the three hotspots is a separate document that adds the wind evidence to the same planning effort.
Veja adds that sea wind also needs new power lines, local suppliers, trained workers and clearer regulation. Those pieces will decide whether projects can be built and how much they add to Brazil’s power mix.
What It Means for US Readers
If you work for a US energy company or fund weighing Latin American renewables, the map shows where Brazil offshore wind may be strongest. It narrows the search, but it does not give you a site, a price or a date.
If you follow Brazil’s power market, the study fits a wider renewable build-out in which wind has already faced setbacks on land. The Rio Times covered how onshore wind hit a wall when investment slowed.
If you hold shares in Brazilian utilities or equipment makers, treat the news as a planning signal rather than a revenue event. Real orders would come only after auctions, licences and grid plans.
What Is Not Known
No date has been set for the first Brazil offshore wind auction in the material EPE and Veja published. How many gigawatts the three hotspots could host has not been stated.
EPE says public measurements taken at sea are scarce, so it wants new on-site readings to check the satellite-based data. The note has not yet looked at what offshore wind would add to the national grid or what it would cost.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are Brazil’s three offshore wind hotspots?
They sit between Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte, off Rio de Janeiro, and from southern Santa Catarina to Rio Grande do Sul. EPE picked them for the highest average wind speeds.
How strong is the wind in these areas?
Average speeds range from 7.0 to 10.0 metres a second, according to the study as reported by Canal Solar. That is about 16 to 22 miles an hour.
Can companies build wind farms in the hotspots now?
No, because the areas are not authorised for wind farms. Projects still need environmental licences, grid access and a federal decision on offering sea areas.
Who is EPE and why does its study matter?
EPE is the Brazilian state company that prepares studies for the energy ministry’s planning. Its findings guide the government on which sea areas to put up for projects.
What does this mean for US investors?
The map helps US firms decide where to focus early research on Brazil offshore wind sites. Any returns depend on future auctions, licences and power lines that do not exist yet.
Sources: Veja, 22 October 2026; Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE), technical note NT EPE/DEE/SGR/073/2026, 2026; Canal Solar, 19 August 2026; O Povo, 29 July 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief