Brazil ends 2021 with records in solar energy generation 

Solar energy experienced a historic year in 2021, with record expansion of the source throughout Brazil. From January to December, more than 3.5 GW of installed power was generated in homes, facades and small plots of land, according to data from ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency).

This is a historic record, which easily surpassed the 2.68 GW recorded in 2020 and which helped the sector reach the mark of 8.26 GW of installed power since the source began operating in Brazil. 

In large plants, with a power range greater than 5 MW, the source also registered significant growth, ending the year with just over 4.62 GW in operation, which represents an increase of 49.5% compared to 3.09 GW which had been achieved at the beginning of January. 

According to ABSOLATE (Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy), solar systems in Brazil already represent more than 70% of the entire power of the Itaipu hydroelectric plant, the second largest in the world and the largest in Latin America. 

From January to December, all the accumulated volume was also reflected in the expansion of solar energy in the national energy matrix, going from being the seventh largest source of energy generation in the country to becoming the sixth largest, with a share of 2.4%. In January, the percentage was just 1.6%. 

Read too: Import of PV modules in Brazil records growth of 82.3%.

In 2021, Brazil also joined the group of 15 leading countries in installed solar energy capacity in the world and expectations now are that investments in the area will increasingly expand starting next year. 

Data from CCEE (Electric Energy Trading Chamber), for example, point out that for 2022, numbers are even higher than those presented this year, since since 2020, photovoltaic DG (distributed generation) alone has been growing by around 230% per year. year in Brazil.

In the opinion of Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of ABSOLAR, the trend for 2022 is for the sector to continue evolving, mainly due to three factors: the large number of centralized generation projects that should begin operating in the country, the greater demand for solar systems with the approval of PL 5829 and the increases in the electricity bill scheduled for next year in the order of 21%. 

“The year 2021 was historic and set records for the solar energy sector in Brazil. It was the year in which the country attracted the most investment and more created jobs. For 2022, we are not able to anticipate numbers yet, but it is very likely that we will have another year of records”, he said.