Government of Rio Grande do Norte and EDF Renewables sign agreement for offshore wind project

Rio de Janeiro, May 29th, 2023 – The Government of Rio Grande do Norte signed this Monday (29), with EDF Renewables, a global leader in renewable energy, and International Renewable Energy – IER, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop actions of mutual cooperation and exchange aimed at developing offshore wind power generation projects and green hydrogen production in the state.

“We started the week with very auspicious news, an understanding with investors with a serious and qualified profile and with consolidated experience. At Rio Grande do Norte we are committed 24/7 to developing renewable energies and consolidating Porto-Indústria Verde. And we also deal with this directly with the federal government. We have synergy between government and private initiative to move forward. This is a project that has a positive impact on Rio Grande do Norte, the Northeast and Brazil”, said Governor Fátima Bezerra.

EDF Renewables has ambitions to develop, build, operate and maintain a wind farm complex on the high seas, on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte, with an estimated capacity of up to 2GW and expected start-up in 2030. The international experience of EDF Renewables, which has more than 1 GW in operation and more than 10 GW under construction and under development in the offshore segment around the world, guarantees the necessary technical capacity to make the project viable.

The offshore wind complex in Rio Grande do Norte is being developed jointly with Internacional Energias Renováveis ​​(IER), a Potiguar company for renewable energy generation projects, which, since 2020, has been involved in the development of the project. The partnership and initial structuring between EDF Renewables and IER was advised by SUNSTO Renováveis, a renewable project development and structuring company.

“The partnership with the Government of Rio Grande do Norte is an important step towards expanding and diversifying EDF Renewables’ portfolio of solutions in Latin America. The signing of the MoU reinforces our presence in the Brazilian Northeast, where we have already enabled four onshore wind complexes, which add up to more than 1.4 GW”, explains André Salgado, CEO of EDF Renewables Brazil.

About EDF Renewables Brazil
In Brazil since 2015, EDF Renewables Brazil is among the country’s leaders in the renewable energy sector, totaling more than 1.8 GW in solar and wind energy projects in operation and under construction in Bahia, Minas Gerais and Paraíba. EDF Renewables is a global energy player which develops, builds and operates renewable power generation plants. As a major player in the energy transition worldwide, EDF Renewables deploys, within EDF Group, competitive, responsible and value-creating projects. In every country, our teams show their commitment to local stakeholders every day, adding their expertise and capacity for innovation to the fight against climate change.

About IER
Potiguar Company, consolidated in 2016 with the objective of promoting innovation, sustainability and efficiency of energy resources. Since then, the company has concentrated its activities on the development of energy generation projects from renewable sources, being present in all states of the Brazilian Northeast with more than 5GW in projects.

About SUNSTO Renewables
SUNSTO Renováveis ​​is a renewable energy company specializing in project development and structuring, investment and management, with extensive experience in solar and wind energy, growth prospects in energy storage and hydrogen technologies. The company focuses on Brazil and France.