A symbol of Brazil’s Ceará state and present on its official coat of arms since 1897, sail rafts known as jangadas are 80% of the fishing vessels in the state, but they could lose ground to wind turbines installed at sea.

The matter is relevant because small-scale fishers who use unmotorized sail rafts such as Ceará’s jangadas depend on the strength of the winds to move around in the sea. That could be severely impacted by the more than 4,300 offshore wind turbines to be installed within 3-35 kilometers (1.9-22 miles) from the shore.

“Imagine a forest of giant wind turbines in your way, forcing detours and longer routes against or with the wind, where you used to move around freely,” reflects Ronaldo Gonzaga, a fisherman from Cumbe, a quilombo (maroon) community in Aracati, 150 km (93 mi) from the state capital Fortaleza. Furthermore, he adds, “imagine the noise and the shaking that the turbines will cause in the sea. The fish that used to go there will no longer appear.”

According to Adryane Gorayeb, head of the Wind Energy Observatory at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), this is why there are still no offshore wind farms operating below the equator. “The impacts on tropical seas, with ecosystems, currents and depths that are different from the northern seas, are still unknown.”

The uncertainty worries fishers, who have been mobilizing against wind farms.

The battle against wind farms is not new

Surrounded by shrimp farms and a small strip of mangroves that resist the advance of the sea at the mouth of the Jaguaribe River, the Cumbe community, with a population of 1,000, has already faced the wind industry’s arrival in its territory. In 2009, 67 turbines were installed in the dunes surrounding the community, restricting the path between the village and the beach.

“We only managed to gain access after four years of fighting and protests that paralyzed the wind farm,” Gonzaga recalls. He and two local residents — rather than the company — had to sign statements taking responsibility for any accidents when crossing the dunes among towers and electrical cables. “Despite this nonsense, we complied because we needed to do our fishing and leisure activities.”

Like Cumbe, other traditional coastal communities are living with the effects of wind energy expansion. According to the Federal University of Ceará Wind Energy Observatory, 90% of the state’s wind farms are located up to 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the sea, in beach, restinga and mangrove areas, with turbines installed 100 meters (328 feet) from the water. Now, the concern is that the impacts on land will be repeated at sea, after a bill regulating offshore wind energy was signed into law in January.

In Cumbe, the wind farm substation is located within the community, whose community members say they have never received any benefits. “They said that Cumbe was the largest producer of wind energy in 2009, but our electricity bill has never been reduced, even with the transmission line passing over our heads,” says community leader João Luís Joventino do Nascimento, who became known as João do Cumbe for defending his own territory. “Nothing justifies this invasion by wind farms, which are destroying lives to produce energy that is not even for us.”

Wind energy projects vs. small fishers

After fighting wind farms on land, now is the time to face the turbines at sea.

In Brazil, at least 103 offshore wind projects await licensing from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), with a total estimated power of 244.6 gigawatts. This amount is greater than all the electricity generated in Brazil today (208.9 GW), almost half of which comes from hydroelectric dams.

As with oil exploration, offshore wind farms can only operate after an auction of maritime areas belonging to the federal government. The Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEEólica) estimates that the first auction will take place in 2025, with activities beginning in 2031.

Half of the offshore projects will be established in the northeast region, where constant winds ensure greater turbine efficiency. In Ceará, 26 projects overlap with small fishing zones used by at least 342 self-declared traditional communities, according to a Ph.D. dissertation from the UFC Wind Energy Observatory. These are maroon, Indigenous, fisher and extractivist groups, such as Cumbe’s residents, which have had a direct relationship with the sea for generations.

“We are thinking about energy democratization and a future with clean energy, but one that brings benefits and improvements to the lives of all people, especially those who receive these projects in their territories,” Gorayeb warns.

“Once again, the countries of the Global South are becoming a sacrifice zone for imperialist economies. Brazil’s northeast will save the decarbonization of Europe’s energy portfolio at the expense of traditional peoples and communities, increasing environmental racism by recolonizing the coastal zone,” summarizes João do Cumbe summarizes.

According to the State Department for Economic Development and Labor, in addition to feeding and sustaining thousands of families, small-scale fishing is crucial to the economy of Ceará, accounting for almost 50% of fish exports. However, Brazil does not monitor the domestic market and has had no official fishing statistics for 14 years.

“How can we industrialize the sea in terms of energy production without knowing what we’d lose by removing these productive areas, mainly for our food security and sovereignty but also for domestic and foreign trade?” Gorayeb asks.

According to a new social mapping of small-scale fishing in the coastal zone of Ceará, fishers operate over a vast area of 37,260 km² (14,386 mi2) — a quarter of the state. The activity extends up to 90 km (56 mi) from the coast and involves more than 200 target species such as mullet, shrimp, lobster, grouper, tuna and octopus.

Meanwhile, offshore wind farms have already taken over 17,280 km2 (6,672 mi2) of that same area — almost half of it. IBAMA denied licenses for two more projects: one for lack of environmental feasibility and the other for not providing the required documents.

Near Cumbe, at least three projects have their areas demarcated at sea, but no company has consulted the community, says João do Cumbe. This goes against International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169, which guarantees indigenous and tribal peoples, including maroon communities, the right to prior, free and informed consultation on projects that affect their territories.

João do Cumbe stresses the importance of coastal communities. “If family farming ensures healthy food on workers’ tables, it’s small-scale fishing with its sail rafts that brings fresh fish to their plates, not the large-scale industry. Furthermore, we are the ones who care for and preserve the environment.”

Green hydrogen

Currently, Brazil’s northeast region is already self-sufficient in wind energy, with its onshore plants responsible for 92% of the country’s production, according to ABEEólica. In 2023, in addition to supplying all of the consumption of the northeast region, 38% of the surplus was exported to other regions of the country. For this reason, offshore projects have been associated with the green hydrogen supply chain, which is emerging as a clean energy alternative.

With global decarbonization deadlines increasingly close, Brazil has passed five laws in recent months related to wind energy, green hydrogen, biofuels and the carbon market.

“Brazil really needs to create a regulatory framework that is not limited to a law on offshore wind farms, to do what our president calls ‘green industrialization’ and to position itself strongly as a relevant leader in the energy transition scenario,” Elbia Gannoum, executive president of ABEEólica, told Mongabay.

One method of green hydrogen production consists of using electricity generated by offshore wind farms to electrolyze water, which separates hydrogen from oxygen. Hydrogen can provide three times more energy per unit mass than gasoline, and it also supplies the steel, fertilizer and long-distance transportation industries. Despite its potential, less than 1% of the global population has access to that technology nowadays, according to the International Energy Agency.

Fernanda Delgado, CEO of the Brazilian Green Hydrogen Industry Association, explained to Mongabay that “the great advantages of producing green hydrogen in Brazil are the high share of renewables in the electricity portfolio, especially in the northeast, the availability of land and water, a more favorable geopolitical scenario and the potential for a domestic purchasing market.”

According to Gannoum from ABBEólica, there will be no offshore projects exclusively for hydrogen due to its continuous demand. “The farms require 24/7 supply through the National Interconnected System. Brazil can already produce the world’s best green hydrogen, it just needs to be connected to the system,” he says.

A pioneer in attracting renewable energy investments, the state government of Ceará sees green hydrogen more as an economic opportunity than an environmental one. The “State Green Hydrogen Day,“ on Nov. 17, was created after the establishment of a corridor for that supply chain, with production at the Pecém Port Complex, 60 km (37 mi) from the state capital Fortaleza, and distribution through the port of Rotterdam, the largest in Europe.

The Dutch port, which holds 30% of Pecém’s operations, will transport the green hydrogen to markets in the European Union and the United Kingdom. In addition to Ceará, other Brazilian northeastern states have invested in this new technology, such as Rio Grande do Norte and Piauí.

In intercontinental logistics, hydrogen is converted into green ammonia, which adds nitrogen captured from the air. Ammonia is liquid at room temperature, making it easier to transport, unlike pure hydrogen, which requires high pressure or very low temperatures. Upon reaching its final destination, the ammonia is transformed back into hydrogen.

This process requires more renewable energy and increases the need for infrastructure. “The country will need to boost its energy production and invest more. Offshore wind power will be crucial to ensuring more competitive hydrogen,” Gannoum sustains.

Banner image: Coastal communities’ campaign against offshore wind farms. Image courtesy of João do Cumbe.

Citation:
Yue, M., Lambert, H., Pahon, E., Roche, R., Jemei, S., & Hissel, D. (2021). Hydrogen energy systems: A critical review of technologies, applications, trends and challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 146, 111180. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2021.111180

This story was first published here in Portuguese on April 30, 2025.