Deep in the northeast region of Brazil lies the humble town of Serra Branca, known for harvesting corn… and wind.
In 2016, Brazil was ranked the 5th best wind market in the world — and according to Bloomberg Tech, Serra Branca’s breezes are “so perfect” for powering windmills that Brazil’s northeast region is capable of spinning more wind energy than any other region on the planet.
Why is Serra Branca’s wind so dang good?
Consistent breezes reportedly give the entire country a capacity factor (electricity produced vs. its theoretical output) of 39%.
Serra Branca’s location specifically gets higher wind speeds on average than the rest of Brazil, with very little change in the wind’s direction — known to wind-heads as “the perfect climate.”
At 2.7 Gigawatts, they account for the most wind-power capacity in Brazil, and with that much wind, they have a lot to sell.
Meaning it’s gonna be cheeeaaap
French renewable energy company, Voltalia SA, just won two projects in Serra Branca that will reportedly sell the cheapest wind power ever in Brazil.
In a pair of government auctions last month, the company bid to deliver electricity for a record low $29.82 per megawatt-hour, a move that ultimately landed them the projects.
The company is now developing a total of 1k megawatts of wind farms in the northeast region and they expect to invest $867m into those endeavors.