# Advances, Progress, and Future Directions of Renewable Wind Energy in Brazil (2000-2025-2050)
## 2 Potential of Wind Energy Resources in Brazil
### Onshore Wind Energy Potential
Environmental and Seasonal Variability  
Figure 4: Occupation of the 10 largest wind farms in the northeast and south regions of Brazil and a reference area of influence of 125 km radius: (**a**) northeast region, (**b**) east region, and (**c**) south region. * Seasonal Wind Patterns: Some regions have strong winter winds but calm summers, leading to fluctuating CF. * Wake Effects (Wind Farm Layout): Poorly spaced turbines cause aerodynamic interference, reducing downstream turbine efficiency. * Offshore vs. Onshore Differences
* Offshore Wind: Typically has higher CF (40-60%) due to stronger, steadier winds and fewer obstructions. * Onshore Wind: More variable (25-45%) due to terrain and land-use constraints. Wind speed has a spatial and temporal distribution. Its spatial distribution depends on the roughness of the terrain, for example, the presence of trees, buildings, hills, or mountains. Temporarily, wind speed can vary during the day or night, and even more so in the early morning, morning, midday, afternoon, or evening. Figure 5 shows the representative average hourly wind speed profile for the Northeast region, considering different wind turbine hub heights [24]. Figure 5 shows the hourly variation in wind speed in the Northeast region of Brazil, where the highest speeds, around 10 m/s, are recorded between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Wind speeds decrease between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., with minimum wind speeds around 7 m/s. Finally, wind speeds peak from 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., reaching 9 m/s. Despite the decrease in wind speed during the afternoon, the recorded speeds are considered excellent for wind turbine performance. One advantage of recording high wind speeds at night is that wind farms can contribute energy production to the electrical grid (SIN) at that time. In contrast, when wind speeds are low in the afternoon, solar photovoltaic energy can supplement energy production during daylight hours. Furthermore, the temporal distribution of wind speeds varies seasonally throughout the year, with speeds varying from lower to higher depending on whether it is autumn, winter, spring, or summer. Figure 6 shows the seasonal variation in wind speeds in northeastern Brazil. Wind speeds vary between 6 m/s and 11 m/s throughout the year, with minimum values recorded in March and April, while maximum values are observed in August. The curve shows an upward trend from May to August, with decreases in November and March [24]. Table 1 presents a breakdown of the estimated onshore wind energy potential for the different regions and states of Brazil [24]. The Northeast region stands out with a potential equivalent of 75.3 GW, followed by the Southeast region with 29.7 GW, the South region with 22.8 GW, the North region with 12.8 GW, and finally the Central West region with 3.1 GW. Figure 5: Average hourly wind speed profile at different heights registered in the northeast region of Brazil. Finally, it is possible to observe that the wind energy potential that Brazil has in its territory is equivalent to 143.7 GW, comparable to a hypothetical energy production of around 272.1 TWh/year, where the states that benefit most from the wind resource are