Day 3

Welcome to day three in Brazil where we are headed to Ventos do Sul. Ventos do Sul is one of the wind farms of Enerfin, a wind power utility owned by Elecnor. With sites in Brazil, Canada, and Spain, Enerfin has constructed over 2 GW of turbines and are continually growing. In Brazil specifically, the potential for additional wind is high, as many rural areas remain untapped. As a result, the development of offshore wind is likely to be many years away.

The turbines we were able to see up close are 2.3 MW direct drive units from Enercon. Blade diameters ranged from 72 meters to 90 meters and hub heights from 80 meters to 108 meters. The direct drive units use a generator that operates at the same rotational speed as the turbine rather than using a gearbox to increase rpm and use a smaller generator. The consequence is that the direct drive units are much quieter and enjoyable to stand near.

Just as exciting was our trip to the control room for Ventos do Sul. In contrast to Tractabel, there was a very modern digital control system. The continuous monitoring of wind speed, direction, power output, and rotor speed were extremely intuitive and gave the operator an opportunity to monitor the plant performance from anywhere remotely.

Following our visit, we had a great Brazilian lunch with service to the table of a wide assortment of meats and a new favorite dish – cinnamon sugared pineapples. A long drive back to Floripa meant a great portion of day three was spent sleeping, but we had a great visit and looked forward to getting back to our first home.