The wind projects will compete for 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) starting on 1 July 2017, the country's Mines and Energy Ministry said in a statement.

According to the rules, projects short-listed for the 2014 reserve auction but unsuccessful in the 31 October tender can be fast-tracked to the April process,

The government will only approve wind power projects that can guarantee connection to the grid.

There is no place for solar projects in today's announcement.

The last time that Brazil held a power auction dedicated only to renewable sources was in 2010, when 1.5GW of wind power was contracted.

Brazilian developers have an estimated 20GW of projects ready for auctions according to estimates from the Brazilian Wind Power Association (ABEEólica).

For the 2014 reserve auction, 626 wind power projects have been registered with a combined capacity of 15.4GW.

Brazil is expected to contract about 2GW of new wind power plants each year.