Solar energy reaches historic mark of 11 GW in Brazil

Brazil surpassed the 11 GW mark of operational power from solar sources in large plants and in small and medium-sized systems installed on roofs, facades and land. This is what data from ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency).

According to the Agency, the DG (distributed generation) segment currently has 7.16 GW of installed photovoltaic power, while the GC (centralized generation) currently operates with 3.84 GW in solar plants, the equivalent of around 2 ,1% from the Brazilian electrical matrix.

The milestone was reached less than a month after the solar system has exceeded 10 GW of operational power, on August 20th this year. The record also reinforces the growth of the photovoltaic sector in recent years, which saw its operational power more than double in a year and a half, jumping from 5 GW in April 2020 to the current 11 GW.

Distributed generation

With 7.16 GW of installed power, the modality has seen meteoric expansion in recent years. In comparison with the beginning of the year, for example, when DG was at 4.73 GW in January, the growth was 51.37%.

To date, the Brazilian region that has installed the most solar power in the DG segment has been the Southeast, with around 2.65 GW. Close behind are the South of the country (1.50 GW), followed by the Northeast (1.37 GW); Midwest (1.23 GW) and North (0.39 GW).

Among consumption classes, Brazilian homes are those that accumulate the largest volumes, with 3 GW of installed power, reached this week. Brazil also has another 2.53 GW generated from commercial establishments; 974 MW from rural properties and 562 MW from the industrial hub.

Solar energy provided by systems installed in government buildings, public service units and municipal street and avenue lighting were responsible for the combined generation of another 95 MW. 

ANEEL data also reveals that just over 631.2 thousand solar DG units have been introduced into the Brazilian system since the beginning of the source's expansion in 2012. The numbers represent an increase of 86.3% compared to the same period in last year, when there were 338.7 thousand units installed.

Centralized Generation

With 3.84 GW of power in operation in the country, large solar plants are currently the sixth largest source of generation in Brazil. Among the regions, the Northeast accounts for the largest amount (2.78 GW), in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte.

The Southeast appears next, with 1.02 GW of operational power in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Espírito Santo. The Central West, South and North regions together account for around 0.4 GW of supervised power.

In addition to the more than 4,300 solar plants in operation, the country also has 81 projects under construction and 686 with construction not yet started. Together, the new spaces are expected to deliver more than 29.8 GW of solar power to Brazil in the coming years.