The Roads to Carbon Neutral - Season 5 - Episode 3 - The House of the Winds
The Roads to Carbon Neutral - Season 5 - Episode 3
The House of the Winds
The Roads to Carbon Neutral
The fifth season of our program entitled “The Roads to Carbon Neutral”, in partnership with CNBC Catalyst, provides an insight into the solutions and innovations making the transition to low-carbon energy a reality and helping us achieve a carbon-neutral future. These powerful on-the-ground stories are led by TotalEnergies’ employees.
For this third episode, we are heading to the Rio do Vento wind farm in Brazil. Buffeted by never-ending sea winds, the environment around the country’s northeast coastline is the ideal vantage point for generating renewable electricity. Carla Cohen, Asset Owner at TotalEnergies, leads us on a tour of the landscapes that shaped her childhood, while sharing her insights into the tremendous progress that the Brazilian wind industry has achieved since the first wind turbine was installed in the country some 30 years ago.
Carla Cohen, Asset Owner, TotalEnergies: When I was a child this strong wind was so annoying. Like, covering ourselves, our towels with sand. So it's funny to see, how now it's so involved in my life, like, working and turning this wind into energy. The wind here is so strong, that trees don't grow up straight. It’s a perfect spot for wind generation. These strong winds will help us move forward towards a net zero carbon future together with society. The first wind turbine was installed in Brazil 30 years ago. And this site here, Rio do Vento, shows how far we've come since then. This is a particularly big site, it's the largest one in Brazil and one of the top ten in the world. I am responsible for our renewables activities in Brazil, which is through our joint venture with Casa dos Ventos. The name itself means “House of the Wind”. - Hi Bruno. - Good morning, how are you? To work in an infrastructure of this size you need good partnerships. We have been exploring these synergies with Casa dos Ventos. What is the capacity of this site?
Bruno Gigliotti, Project Manager, Casa dos Ventos: We have one gigawatt of installed capacity as of now. This is the biggest wind farm in Brazil and we are aiming to reach 12 GW of installed capacity. You know, it's enough to power around one third of the households of the whole country. We have 240 turbines here. The wind here is very good so this means this energy is very competitive for our clients. We're manufacturing everything from car batteries to chemicals to footwear. You see those guys? They're local to the area. This site is a huge boost for this region as they provide alternative jobs for the locals.
Carla Cohen: Around 90% of the electricity generated in this region comes from wind, solar and hydro. So it creates another pool of regional development, it creates local jobs. Before the wind energy, the trade was much smaller around here. And job opportunities were much fewer. The main employment was farming. The land owners, they receive their rental. This is very important for them and they call it their retirement. People around [here], they are very proud of having this site because they saw the development that the wind industry brought to their locations. - Hi Jose, how are you? - I’m good and you? The municipality of Riachuelo is located close to our complex and overlooks the Rio do Vento site. And Casa dos Ventos promotes this type of action, this type of support for projects like the Interliga District “Music For Everyone”, a way to promote another movement locally. I grew up in a working class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. I got a scholarship from the Brazilian government to be able to study abroad. So I feel that I have this responsibility to bring something to the society, to this country. Working with TotalEnergies fulfilled these ambitions.
Brazil: a priority country for deploying renewable energy
In 2025, TotalEnergies is celebrating its 50th anniversary in Brazil, a key country for rolling out the Company’s multi-energy strategy, which is especially based on the potential of renewable energies.
In 2017, the Company launched its first renewable energy project in the country. In 2022, it entered into a joint venture with Casa dos Ventos, one of Brazil’s leading renewable energy developers, which enabled TotalEnergies to carve a commanding position in the very dynamic Brazilian market. The ambition is to develop onshore wind power, solar power and battery storage projects, with a target capacity of 12 GW by 2030.
By the end of 2024, 1.5 GW of assets were already in operation. In addition, 1.5 GW of onshore wind power assets and 300 MW of solar power production capacity with battery storage systems are under construction.
Rio do Vento: a wind power giant in Brazil
Located in the heart of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in northeast Brazil, Rio do Vento is currently one of the largest wind farms in South America. Taking advantage of the strong winds that sweep this coastal state, the 240 wind turbines have a power generation capacity of around 1 GW, which is a national record. By replacing fossil fuels, the Rio do Vento wind turbines will help avoid 1,700 tons of carbon emissions every year.
The electricity generated by the facilities is sold to Brazilian industrial customers and is an important driver for decarbonizing their activities, in line with the Company’s strategy of offering all its customers a range of increasingly carbon-free products.
The strong local winds will help us reach our net-zero ambitions, together with society.Carla Cohen Asset Owner, TotalEnergies
Rio do Vento wind farm in figures
A tremendous boost for the region and local communities
The wind farm has played a major role in transforming the northeast of the country into Brazil’s primary region for renewable energy production. Ever since the project appeared on the drawing board, the Rio do Vento wind farm has represented a real opportunity for this historically agricultural region and its inhabitants. Professional opportunities were thin on the ground before the development of renewable energies. The wind farm is now a major source of employment, and many local landowners benefit from the income generated by the facilities.
In addition, Casa dos Ventos supports sustainable initiatives focusing on the environment and local populations, thereby contributing to the Company’s ambition of being a driving force for positive change in its host communities.
Local people are really proud to have this site, because they’ve seen the development that the wind industry has brought to the region.Carla Cohen Asset Owner, TotalEnergies
The Roads to Carbon Neutral
