At the end of 2012, Brazil had 2.5 GW of installed wind capacity, enough to power four million households, accounting for 2 percent of national electricity consumption. In 2012 alone, 40 new wind farms came online, adding more than 1 GW of new capacity to the Brazilian electricity grid and creating 15,000 new jobs. This represents an investment of USD 3.43 billion (€2.63 billion), which is expected to increase to USD 24.50 billion (€18.8 billion) by 2020. Steve Sawyer of the Global Wind Energy Council (right) gives his opinion on wind energy in Brazil, the “country of the future”. 
How would you compare the current status of the Brazilian wind market to how it was five years ago?
Five years ago, Brazil’s wind industry was in its infancy, with a cap of just 1,100 MW (later 1,400 MW) of wind power development. Since the introduction of the auction scheme in 2009, the industry has taken off in a big way.
Why is the Brazilian wind energy auction system successful?
The key reasons for the success of the Brazilian auction system are:
  • A pretty high bar to clear before entering the auction, keeping out the speculators
  • A guaranteed 20 year power purchase agreement
  • A binding contract to supply the power — if you are in to bid, you better be serious
  • Brazil’s superb wind regime
  • The availability of BNDES financing
  • The fact that the rest of the global market was in a downturn when things were heating up in Brazil meant that everyone was willing to do what it took to get in on the ground floor.
I do believe that the system is sustainable — with some tweaking.
What are the main challenges for the wind industry?
As wind penetrates the system more and more, there needs to be coordinated grid planning to go along with it, and regionally based planning as well as national. The market can only take you so far.
How do you see the Brazilian wind market in 2020? Wind has been excluded from the A-5 Auction — will this have an impact on the projected 2-GW annual growth?