Investor Presentaiton
Energies 2019, 12, 3658
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This was also emphasized by the National Agency of Electric Energy through a roadmap project
performed by the Center of Management and Strategic Studies of Brazil in 2017 [20].
Other non-
renewables
Nuclear Coal
1.4% 5.7%
Other renewables
5.9%
Photovoltaic Oil products Nuclear
solar
3.0%
2.6%
Coal and coal
products
Wind 0.1%
3.6%
0.60%
Hydraulic
12.0%
power
6.8%
Natural gas
10.5%
Oil
36.4%
Natural gas
13.0%
Biomass
8.2%
Biomass
25.0%
Hydraulic
65.2%
(a)
(b)
Figure 1. (a) Domestic Brazilian energy supply and (b) electrical matrix breakdown in 2017.
2. Targets, Materials, and Methods
In Brazil, mapping of the ocean renewable energy resources through a detailed survey of all
resources is required to identify potential areas for exploration and, consequently, encourage the
development of technologies through the implementation of socio-economically feasible and acceptable
projects. Using this perspective, this article firstly presents an overview of the global potential of ocean
renewable energy resources and the associated technologies for harnessing such energy. Then, in the
second part, the global status of technology maturity is presented through a wide survey of projects,
which are at different stages of development. This shows the current global installed capacity for
different energy sources, as well as pointing out the more promising technologies through the global
interest trend. The third part presents an assessment of the ocean renewable energy resources including
ocean currents, waves, and thermal gradients along the Brazilian coastline. This is a preliminary effort
aimed at indicating the potential energetic regions. Further detailed works are required to investigate
these locations. The methodology applied in this study consists of the use of oceanographic fields
produced by hydrodynamic models to estimate the potential of the energy resources. Modeling is
performed for a data resolution (one regular horizontal grid) of 1/12° (~9 km). The study reveals the
theoretical potential (available energy at sea and not what can be captured) of the resources as well
as their seasonal and temporal variability. Finally, the main Brazilian projects are presented, and the
challenges are discussed.
2.1. Study Area
The Brazilian coastline is more than 7400 km in length and is situated between 04°52′45″N
(Oiapoque River) and 33°45′10″S (Chuí River). The marine areas under Brazilian jurisdiction include
the Territorial Sea, with a limit of 12 nautical miles; the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with 12 to
200 nautical miles; and the Continental Shelf, which comprises the seabed that extends beyond the
Territorial Sea, along the natural extension of the land territory off the continental shelf.
The extent of the Brazilian continental shelf varies along the coast, with a few kilometers (~8 km)
near Bahia and up to 300 km on the coast of the State of Pará, with a range between 60 and 180 m [21,22].
The Brazilian coastline is characterized by intraseasonal fluctuations in the upper ocean circulation
due to several dynamic processes, such as the local forcing dynamics, the remote forcing of winds via
waveguide dynamics, the average flow instability, and the resonance as a function of the coastline
geometry [23,24]. The ocean circulation is dominated by the Subtropical Turn (Equatorial South
Current, SEC) and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current [25]. The SEC is responsible for transporting
the water from the Benguela Current to the Brazilian platform (about 10°S and 20°S), where it passes
through a fork in the North Brazil Current (NBC) and the Brazil Chain (BC) to the south. Due to thisView entire presentation