Solar under net metering reaches 3.6 GW in Brazil

The Brazilian solar association ABSolar has carried out a study on grid-connected photovoltaic distributed generation, which in Brazil includes all PV systems not exceeding 5 MW in size installed under the net metering regime. In total, there is more than 3.6 GW of installed power of distributed generation from photovoltaic solar sources throughout the country, representing more than 18.2 billion reais (€2.81 billion) in accumulated investments since 2012 and more than 108,000 jobs.

According to the association, in the number of systems installed, residential consumers are in the lead, representing 72.5% of the total. That figure is followed by companies in the commerce and services sectors (17.7%), rural consumers (6.8%), industries (2.6%), the public sector (0.4%), public services (0.03%) and public lighting (0.01%).

Regarding installed power, consumers in the commerce and services sectors appear in first place, with 39.1% of the installed power in the country, closely followed by residential consumers (38%), rural consumers (12.7%), industries (8.8%), public energy (1.2%) and other types, such as public services (0.1%) and public lighting (0.02% ).

According to ABSolar, in the last 12 months around 162,000 new solar generation systems were added in Brazil, which implies a growth of more than 130% compared to last year. In the quarter prior to the start of the pandemic, between the months of December and February, connections increased by more than 30% to 52,200.

“In the crises of 2015 and 2016, Brazil's GDP dropped by around 3.5% per year, but the photovoltaic solar energy sector grew more than 100% per year,” said Absolar CEO Rodrigo Sauaia. “Now, after the most acute phase of the current pandemic, photovoltaic solar energy will once again drive Brazil's recovery. Solar energy will be part of the solution, both for our society and for the environment.”

According to a recent report from Brazilian consultancy Greener, the Brazilian solar market appears not to have been significantly slowed by the Covid-19 crisis. The consultancy reports that total module shipments in the market in the first half of the year totaled 2,599 MW, with panel imports reaching 2,490 MW and domestic products accounting for 109 MW, which represents around 4.4% of the total market share.