Viabilidade ambiental de sistemas fotovoltaicos e eólicos instalados na região nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

The use of renewable resources is very recurrent as an alternative for greater energy production and reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. Even being considered “clean” sources, renewable energy generating ventures cause many acts. The objective of this work was to evaluate two projects that generate energy from renewable sources: one project using a solar photovoltaic source and the other that generates wind energy, to determine which one is more environmentally sustainable. The variables “Environmental Impacts”, “Installed Power/Number of energy generating modules”, “Installed power / Intervention area” and “Adopted mitigation measures” were analyzed in relation to the chosen projects. Weights were found in accordance with the requirements considered for greater feasibility of implementation, where the Environmental Feasibility was the result of the sum of the weights found for each variable. As a result, the Wind Complex presented greater environmental feasibility of implementation in relation to the Photovoltaic Complex. It was found that the main impacts observed in both technical projects for production of renewable energy are those related to changes in the landscape, suppression of vegetation and interference in the fauna and flora of the area directly affected by the project. As for the positive impacts, those included in the socioeconomic environment stand out, related to the generation of employment and increased economic movement in the locations where the projects will be installed. Furthermore, it is important to highlight that even though the Environmental Impact Assessment has consolidated and widely used methodologies, it indicates a lot of subjectivity, and different importance can be attributed to the environmental attributes when performed by different professionals. Furthermore, it has been shown that renewable energy can be a good solution to the global energy problem and has several beneficial impacts. However, it can create social and environmental problems where they are installed. Thus, it is necessary to strive to increasingly reduce the effects of adverse impacts.