Jun 11, 2012

The board of directors of the BNDES approved  R$ 378 million in financing to construct five wind farms in Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte. The funds will be earmarked for Força Eólica do Brasil, owned by Neoenergia and Iberdrola, which will invest a total of R$ 594.5 million in the project, with total installed capacity of 150 MW. The amounts will be transferred by the Bank of Brazil.

The project financed by the BNDES will generate 1,800 direct and indirect jobs during construction. The parks are to be built in the municipalities of Caetité (state of Bahia) and Bodó, Santana do Matos and Lagoa Nova (state of Rio Grande do Norte). The five new farms are part of a larger project, consisting of five more wind farms in the vicinity, which also won the second Alternative Sources Auction, in 2010.

The Neoenergia/Iberdrola projects, as sources of renewable energy for reduced environmental impact, will prioritize infrastructure and the local population in relation to other sources as well as reducing the usage of inputs such as natural gas and other petroleum products. This will reduce the dependence on such resources and decrease CO2 emissions.

From an economic standpoint, the direct effects of developing a wind project include income for the land owner, revenue for local, state and federal governments from taxes on transactions and theproperty, as well as generating employment and use of local services.

The indirect effects of construction and operation of the wind project will result in purchases of local goods and services, such as building materials, construction equipment, tools, and also supplies and equipment maintenance. Support services such as accounting, banking and legal assistance are also required.

Portfolio – The BNDES support in the wind industry is significant. The current portfolio, including several steps which projects proceed through at the Bank, amounts to 107 farms. The projects represent a total investment of R$ 12.4 billion and require financing from the BNDES to the tune of R$ 8.4 billion. In 2011 alone, the Bank's support to the sector amounted to R$ 3.4 billion, equivalent to projects that will generate 1,160 MW of installed capacity.