A new law in Brazil could increase the amount of clean, renewable energy produced by South America’s biggest country.

In January, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a law that authorizes offshore wind farm construction, Reuters reported. This could enable incentives to develop wind farms in Brazil’s territorial waters, where wind speeds can be stronger and more consistent than over land.

Da Silva vetoed parts of the law that kept incentives for “more polluting, expensive and inefficient energy sources such as thermoelectric, coal and gas plants,” according to a statement.

A 2024 report from Marsh said Brazil “could be the world’s most promising region for offshore wind,” because of its coastline of 4,600 miles, its beneficial wind conditions, and waters deep enough to hold wind turbines. The country also has a workforce skilled in renewable energy production, giving it a leg up in this area over some other nations, Marsh added. In fact, over 80% of the nation’s electricity already comes from renewable sources, primarily hydroelectric.

Brazil also has considerable experience with wind energy. It ranked sixth for onshore wind installed capacity in the 2023 Global Wind Energy Report and was third for most new wind power plants.

So the new law is just the latest positive development when it comes to wind power in Brazil.

In March and April 2024, wind power created more energy in the U.S. than coal power, marking the first time that had ever been achieved across two consecutive months.

A study out of New Zealand found that it can take less than two years for a wind farm to offset the gases emitted during its construction.

And although detractors may claim that wind farms are a threat to bird populations, research doesn’t back that up. A study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that the number of birds killed by wind turbines annually is a fraction of those killed in other ways, such as by house cats, by power lines, or by flying into buildings. And, per gigawatt-hour of electricity produced, fossil fuels are nearly 20 times more deadly than wind power.

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