EN 
PT_BR 
Solar energy emerged timidly in Brazil in 2012, the year in which REN 482 (Normative Resolution nº 482) of ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) was promulgated – which is today the center of a heated debate that reaches across the country.
Since then, the sector has been growing exponentially. This month, for example, Brazil reached the historic mark of 8 GW of operational power from the photovoltaic source, according to data from ABSOLAR (Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association).
There is no doubt, consumers are increasingly adopting this technology and more plants are being installed. In total, there are 527 thousand UCs (Consumer Units) receiving credits and more than 422 thousand photovoltaic plants installed in more than 5.2 thousand Brazilian cities.
Among the thousands of systems spread across Brazil is that of mechanical engineer Henrique Mendonça. He installed a 4,050 kWp plant in his home, located in Florianópolis (SC).
Built in December 2014, the plant is among the first 370 photovoltaic installations in Brazil – the 17th in Santa Catarina and the 6th in Florianópolis.
According to Júlio César Muller, owner and technical director of Voltmais Soluções Elétricas, the company responsible for implementing the project, R$ 25 thousand were invested in the construction of the plant.
In total, the system has 15 270 W modules from the manufacturer Yngli and a Fronius Galvo inverter – which has provided, since the start of operation until this year, savings of R$ 15,600 on the electricity bill.
The average monthly generation is 320 kWh/month, with a payback – return on investment – of approximately 60 to 80 months.
Another installation that was also carried out in 2014 was for electrical technician Manoel Gutemberg. He built a 4,080 kW plant at his home, located in Parnamirim (RN), which generates an average of 550 kW/month.
According to Tecnosolar, the company in charge of the project, 17 240 W photovoltaic panels from PLACAS MPRIME and a Fronius IG50-PLUS inverter were used – which has provided energy savings of almost R$ 40 thousand to date.
In total, R$ 21,040 was invested in the construction of the plant. The payback was approximately 4 years.
University of RS bets on solar
UFSM (Federal University of Santa Maria), located in Rio Grande do Sul, also decided to invest in photovoltaic energy and installed a 3.5 kW plant in 2014 to promote sustainability and savings.
According to professor Ísis Portolan dos Santos, who participated in the project, the plant was built in one of the university's buildings with the intention of being used for research in the area.
The system, implemented by the company Sonnen Energia, has 14 Risen solar panels, model SYP 250P, and a Fronius Galvo inverter.
