Brazil’s Offshore Wind Sector Poised but Waiting for Decree as Costs and Oil Majors Retreat

Overview

• Brazil put a legal framework in place with Law 15.097 in January 2025 and the CNPE issued regulatory guidelines on April 1, 2026, but an implementing decree with detailed rules is still pending.
• Ibama has recorded 59 formal expressions of interest from companies to build offshore farms, yet no commercial offshore wind units have been built in Brazil to date.
• Pilot projects are advancing: a Senai-led research park in Rio Grande do Norte received a preliminary Ibama license and targets operation in the second half of 2028, and Petrobras retains a small pilot in Rio de Janeiro for long‑term study.
• Investment momentum has shifted as several major oil companies scaled back offshore-wind plans after U.S. policy changes tied to President Trump’s re-election, while electric utilities, Chinese firms and a new Coalizão Eólica Marinha backed by GWEC are seeking to develop local supply chains.
• Project economics remain the main barrier because rising interest rates, supply-chain bottlenecks and higher construction costs have reduced investor appetite even as the World Bank projects about 1.2 GW potential and up to 516,000 direct jobs by 2050.