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Territory. Electric energy. Wind energy.
The currentexpansionoftheinformational-scientific-technicalenvironmenthasgenerated a crescentdemand for mega-scaleelectricenergyproduction, especiallyfromunconventionalrenewablesourcessuch as wind, solar andbiomassenergy. The search for new sourcesoccurssincethe 1970 decade, duetotheinternationalenergeticgeopoliticsreorganizationtriggeredbythefollowingreasons: 1) theoilshocksand its negative impactsontheeconomiesofimporting countries oftheOrganisation for EconomicCo-operationandDevelopment (OECD); 2) privateandpublicinvestmentstothediscoveryandadvancementof new electricenergytransmissionandgenerationtechnologies; 3) socio-environmentalrisksinvolvingthe use of some traditionalsources like thermonuclearenergy; 4) theemergenceofenvironmentalquestionsand its transformation in market business. In thissense, new regionshavebeenspecializing in energyproductionbyusingrenewableenergeticpotentialavailable in theirenvironmentandbecameimportantnichesofsurplus-valueextraction. In Brazil, a country thathas its energymatrixpredominantlybased in thehydraulicsource, theexecutionofelectricenergygenerationprojectsbasedonthe use ofwindenergyhasmadethesubspacesof its nationalterritory, historicallydemanding for electricity, toalsobecomeproviders like the case ofthe Rio Grande do Norte state. In recentyears, theabundantwindpotentialavailable in theaforementionedstatehasattractedinternationalandnationalinvestors, resulting in anincreaseof its installedelectriccapacityfrom 17 MW in 2003 to 4.491 MW in 2018, ofwhich 85,8% are producedbythewindsource. Thiscapacity, whenconvertedtogeneration, reversedthehistorical position ofthisstate in theNortheasternsubsystemoftheBrazilianNationalInterconnected System (SIN), goingfromimporter-consumertoproducer-consumer-exporter. Currently, thestateis self-sufficient in electricenergy, exporting (onaverage) 64,3% of its producedsurplusofwhich 58,9% are windenergy. In this new setting context, thestate’selectric material base wasamplifiedandrenovated via theinstallationof new generatingunits, substations, transmissionlines, amongotheritems. Furthermore, thestudiesof Energy Geographyperformedby Max Sorre (1948; 1967), Pierre George (1952) and Gerald Manners (1964), inspiredtheobjectiveofthisstudy, whichistocomprehendthe new settings ofelectricenergyproduction in thestateof Rio Grande do Norte bythecorporate use of its territory for thewindenergysubcircuit. Consequently, thespatialcircuitofproductiontheory, basedontheMarxianintellectualtraditionandonthethinkingofgeographer Milton Santos. The obtainedresultsconductedtheratificationofthethesisthatthewindenergysubcircuitimplementation in Rio Grande do Norte hasoccurredfromtheproductive, normativeandtechnicalexpansionofthenationalelectricmacrosystem in thestate, andof its foreignizationandfinancialization, resultedfromthemergerandconcentrationof capital andtheelectric sector denationalization via processes ofcompanyanddomesticassetsacquisitionby big internationaleconomicgroupswhichmajorlycontrolsthegeneration, distributionandcommercializationsegmentsofenergy. Thosegroups are alsotakingcontrolofthetransmissionsegment. Finally, theconclusionisthat a processofexpansionofnationalspaces in theinternationaleconomy, onceobservedby professor Milton Santos in Brazil, isnow happening in thegeographicalenvironmentof Rio Grande do Norte throughelectricenergy.