Brazil's distributed solar power generation reaches 24 GW
Brazil's energy regulator Aneel said that installed capacity in the country's distributed solar power segment reached 24 GW at the end of September, including all PV systems sized at 5 MW and below.
In the first nine months of the year, Brazil's major developers installed and grid-connected distributed solar arrays amounted to about 5.79 GW, slightly lower than the 5.99 GW in the same period last year.
However, new grid-connected capacity in 2023 was concentrated in the first quarter at 2.75 GW, compared to 1.5 GW in the same period in 2022.Between March and June, 1.8 GW was added, the same as in 2022. Grid connections in the third quarter were 1.2 GW, down from 2.4 GW in the same period in 2022.
Guilherme Chrispim, Executive President of ABGD, the Brazilian Association of Distributed Generation, said, "The last 1 GW of installations took almost three months, and it is clear that the growth rate gradually slowed down during 2023. Until the middle of the year, new (distributed generation) capacity additions were 20% per month, 30% higher than in the same months in 2022. This is a significant increase following the 2022 boom."
But he also acknowledged that companies are expected to see a rebound in sales in the second half of the year.
He noted, "We've never had such low levels of generation and we're all selling at low prices. In many cases, investment returns are essentially flat or slightly higher. So competition never stops. Manufacturers say that trend should continue."
But Chrispim says another factor that should not be overlooked is the systematic refusal of Brazilian utilities to grant new grid-connection licenses.
He said, "How many companies will face closure in six months if sales stop? How many [distributed generation] systems will not be connected to the grid during this period? Consumers will give up buying if they have to wait for months because of refusals from utilities and other obstacles."
Residential consumers accounted for the majority of new distributed generation capacity during both 2022 and 2023 - contributing 4.5 GW of the 7.1 GW total in 2022 and 2.8 GW of the 5.9 GW total as of mid-October of this year.