Solar financing accounts for 57% of sales in 2021

Solar financing continues to advance, supporting 57% of sales made, being an important lever for the growth of the photovoltaic sector. This is what a survey carried out by Greener, a consultancy and research company.

According to the Distributed Generation Strategic Study: 2nd Semester of 2021, 40 financial institutions were cited last year, an increase compared to the 11 mentioned in 2016.

In first place, as the most cited bank, appears BV (43%), followed by Santander (36%), Sicredi (24%), Solfácil (23%), Banco do Brasil (22%), Sicoob (20%), Bradesco (10%) , BNB (7%) and other institutions (14%). “Cases of cash payments have decreased over the years, giving way precisely to bank financing”, highlighted Greener.

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Importing modules

Another highlight of the study refers to the volume of photovoltaic modules demanded by the Brazilian market in 2021 to meet solar generation (distributed + centralized generation). In total, 9.7 GW were imported, an increase of 100% compared to 2020, which reached 4.77 GW. “We observed a strong acceleration in the volume of modules in the fourth quarter of last year, indicating market optimism for 2022”, pointed out the consultancy.

This volume of 9.7GW represented a share of 5.6% of the global demand for solar panels in 2021, which was 172.6 GW, according to PV Infolink. An important growth considering that in 2017 this share represented 0.9%.

Import of inverters

The volume of inverters imported until November 2021 was 8.99 GW, an increase of 130% compared to the same period in 2020, which reached 4.95 GW. Over the past year, larger inverters stood out with an average of 50% of the total volume imported from string technology. Those with lower power have remained stable.

PV system prices

The prices of photovoltaic systems had an average increase of 8% in 2021. In general, ground-based plants with trackers show an increase of 6 to 8% in the final value in relation to ground installations with fixed structures, which show an increase of 9 to 12% over the installations on the roof.

According to Greener, the restriction of the global production chain, added to the spike in freight prices and the appreciation of the dollar, directly impacted module costs in 2021. On the other hand, the significant entry of new players and the high competitiveness of the market were factors which mitigated the increase in prices for the final consumer.

Other highlights

The residential class stands out in the advancement of distributed generation, representing 54% of the volume added in 2021, while the commercial class was responsible for 27%. “The continuation of remote work, more expensive electricity and greater access to financing could be decisive factors in the choice of DG by residential consumers in the coming months,” said Greener.

For the commercial segment, the issue of trust was a fundamental factor in choosing the integrating company, showing that credibility and the recommendation of satisfied customers are important indicators for generating business. Subsequently, price also proved to be a decisive factor for commercial consumers.

About the study

Greener interviewed 3,767 Integrating companies from December 14, 2021 to January 17, 2022. The research included a sample of companies from across the country, of all sizes and ages, thus obtaining a wide diversity of the integration market photovoltaic.

Click here and check out the full report.