2019-10-15
The "Mapping of Environmental Decision-Making Models for Offshore Wind Farms in Europe" was presented at an event held at the headquarters of IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Resources) on Friday, September 11th. In attendance were Counsellor of the European Union to Brazil, Rui Ludovino, and the president of IBAMA, Eduardo Fortunato Bim, alongside representatives of other institutions that take part in the project. Among them, the director of the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL), Sandoval Feitosa; the director of the Department of Information and Energy Research (DIEE) of Ministry of Mines and Energy, André Osório; and the technical director of the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEEólica), Sandro Yamamoto; in addition to Brazilian expert hired by the Sector Dialogues to conduct the study, engineer Rafael Monteiro de Vasconcelos.
“This project is extremely strategic in the current global context. The EU is the most committed continent in terms of addressing this issue. Europe's goal is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and to offset remaining emissions. It's a very ambitious objective," says Ludovino.
According to the Counsellor, the EU has already reduced emissions by 22 percent compared to the 1990s, while the economy has grown by 52 percent. "In other words, economic growth and social welfare are not incompatible with reducing CO2 emissions. The target is to have a 50-55% reduction by 2030. Addressing the energy issue is crucial in this effort".
For Eduardo Bim, the dialogue with the EU is fundamental to Brazil. "IBAMA is also prepared to reciprocate the knowledge shared by Europe, through internationally recognized experts," he said.
In order to facilitate the understanding of international adopted decision- making models, the study conducted by the Brazilian expert identifies: i) what is the relationship between planning and environmental impact assessments of Offshore Wind Farms in European countries; ii) what are the decision-making steps required for environmental permits or licensing in these countries; iii) what are the sources of information for finding references on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) of Offshore Wind Farms in Europe; iv) how they monitor facilities, operations and the decommissioning of wind farms; and v) what are the legal standards applied in EU countries for Environmental Impact Assessments and the decommissioning of farms.
Six EU countries at different stages of implementation of this energy source have been selected: Germany, Belgium and Denmark, which have consolidated farms and experience in monitoring the various phases of the project; France, at an early stage of development and construction; and Portugal and Spain, with no offshore wind farms so far, but with outlined regulatory and decision-making models.
In addition to the publication of the mapping, the project also includes: a multidisciplinary technical visit to European enterprises and institutions for training in international models of Environmental Impact Assessments of Offshore Wind Farms; the Terms of Reference (TOR) to prepare environmental studies required for granting licenses; and teach of an internal course for IBAMA analysts on some of the essential aspects of permits in this category.
Based on the knowledge acquired, a Normative Instruction will be drafted to guide the granting of Federal Environmental Licenses to Offshore Wind Farms. The goal is to build safe and transparent environmental regulatory models that encourage investments in offshore wind power generation in Brazil, and mitigate environmental impacts and conflicts with other maritime activities, such as fishing, oil production, and tourism, among others.
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