Logistical challenges will not be enough to slow solar growth in 2022

The solar energy market, which was already very hot, has just received a major incentive, which promises to set the sector on fire once and for all.

The approval of PL 5829, now Law 14,300 sanctioned on January 7, 2022 by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), represents a major catalyst for the solar business, as projects filed in the next 12 months will maintain current benefits until December 31, 2045.

To illustrate the exponential growth of our sector, let us remember some solar figures in Brazil.

In 2020, the imported volume of inverters was 4.90GW. In the first half of 2021 alone, there were 4.55GW. The volume of modules went from 4.76GW in 2020 to 4.88GW in the first half of 2021 alone.

Solar energy gained so much credibility in the country that, even in the face of a terrible pandemic scenario, it continued to grow.

Now, according to information from Bloomberg, the international production chain may be affected once again, due to the congestion at the Port of Shanghai and the accumulation of containers at the Port of Shenzhen, both located in China.

Given the situation, it is impossible not to ask ourselves: after all, how could this situation affect Brazil in the coming months?

Considering that the two main components of the solar energy system, modules and inverters, are mostly imported from the Asian country, the problems at Chinese ports directly affect the Brazilian solar market.

The port of Shanghai, which has deep waters and an attached river port, has occupied first place in the ranking of the busiest container ports in the world for twenty years. In 2019, this port handled the equivalent of 43 million 20-foot containers.

In Shenzhen, the country's main technology hub, tests on residents and truck drivers to contain an outbreak of COVID-19 caused a queue of ships at the port. This caused the Shekou terminal to begin restricting the entry of goods.

Those who have been in the market for a few years, however, know that challenges such as logistics will not be enough to slow the growth of solar in 2022. In the recent past, there were no financing lines for a photovoltaic system. Today we have great options, several specific lines, with attractive rates.

Certainly, the business maturity that we developed in Brazil will be required of us now, in order to overcome the obstacles imposed by the problems in Chinese ports. Negotiations here will have longer delivery times, which will require companies to be absolutely clear with their customers regarding delivery and installation times.

Due to our productive dependence on countries like China, it is essential that all stakeholders involved in the photovoltaic market understand that some factors can be beyond companies' control, such as global health issues, problems at ports and inspector strikes.

We know markets, such as the automobile industry, which are used to dealing with long delivery times. Currently, it is normal for a dealership to take 60 to 90 days to deliver a vehicle. This year, given the challenges of international logistics, it is possible that we will need to use the same strategy in solar markets as in automobiles.