The accelerated growth of solar distributed generation (DG) has profoundly transformed the Brazilian electricity sector in recent years. What began as a niche market after the regulation of micro and mini-distributed generation has become a segment with almost 50 GW installed and an increasingly significant share in the operation of the electrical system.
While increasing consumer prominence and driving the energy transition, this expansion has brought new challenges to grid planning and operation. Curtabilement, the need for storage, and the visibility of distributed generation have become central to the regulatory debate.
In the evaluation of Luisa ValentimAccording to the leader of GEAPP (Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet) in Brazil, the country is still searching for a new equilibrium point to accommodate this transformation.
In an interview with Canal SolarThe executive stated that the measures adopted to deal with the cuts in renewable energy generation are still occurring in a fragmented way and advocated for a more coordinated strategy for the sector.
The executive also detailed GEAPP's projects in the Amazon and anticipated a partnership with EPE (Energy Research Company) to improve the visibility of distributed generation in electrical system planning models.
To begin, explain what GEAPP is and what the organization's work entails in Brazil.
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet is an organization created during the Glasgow COP by three major international philanthropic foundations: the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bezos Earth Fund, and the Mastercard Foundation.
We operate in more than 40 countries in the Global South and have two main pillars. The first is the agenda of access to energy and combating energy poverty. But not just access. We talk a lot about energy for development, about how energy can generate economic activity and improve people's lives. The second pillar is the modernization and digitalization of networks, which we call the Networks of the Future.
In Brazil, we have a technical cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Mines and Energy focused on isolated systems in the Amazon, with an emphasis on universal access and decarbonization. We are implementing pilot projects involving solar systems, batteries, and productive uses of energy in communities in the region.
What is the scope of these projects?
These first seven pilot projects are expected to impact around 600 families. The most interesting thing is that they are seven completely different communities. Some communities have access to the electrical grid but go days without power. Others have received individual solar systems that work well for basic consumption, but don't allow for productive activities.
There are others that have already received mini-grids, but face operational challenges. The idea is precisely to learn from these experiences and generate input for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, for Aneel (Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency), and for the distributors to improve public policies.
You recently started working with EPE on distributed generation. How did this initiative come about?
We started talking with EPE [Energy Research Company] at the end of last year about various topics related to the grids of the future, such as storage, integration of distributed resources, and new technologies for the electrical system. During these conversations, the issue of distributed generation came up.
They already had this project under discussion internally and found in GEAPP an opportunity for technical support and funding for some studies. The goal is to better understand how other countries are dealing with the visibility of distributed generation and to evaluate ways to improve the forecasting models used in Brazil.
What exactly is the problem that you identified?
I wouldn't say it's a problem of solar generation security. The challenge is knowing exactly how much distributed generation is producing at any given moment of the day. Today, EPE (Energy Research Company) and other agents can mainly see the net balance between generation and consumption. But there's a very large portion of distributed generation that ends up being invisible to those who do the planning and operation.
Imagine a very sunny day. This generation may be producing much more energy than the previous day, and this information doesn't necessarily appear accurately to the planner. When we're talking about almost 50 GW of installed capacity, this starts to have significant impacts on load forecasting, operation, and even issues related to grid stability.
Are there international references for this work?
We are still in the early stages of international benchmarking, but we know that there are interesting experiences in Australia and India. Australia, for example, has already developed initiatives to collect real-world data from solar inverters.
This is something that interests us greatly because it can bring important elements to the regulatory debate. In the future, this type of discussion may even contribute to defining what information equipment needs to make available to distributors and system operators.
Do you believe this project can bring benefits to consumers who have distributed generation?
I think so, albeit indirectly. The greater the visibility into how distributed resources are operating and how they interact with the network, the greater the ability to identify specific problems and develop more appropriate solutions.
Sometimes the challenge isn't national. It's regional. So, having this more detailed view can help create more efficient solutions for the system's operation and for the integration of distributed generation itself.
How would you assess the way Brazil is dealing with the increase in curtailment?
That's a multi-million dollar question. What I see is that many of the measures being discussed today are responses to a problem that has already occurred. I understand that we can't live with the levels of cuts we're seeing, but I also feel that the solutions are being built in a very reactive way.
When we talk about curtailment, we are simultaneously talking about storage, agent remuneration, modernization of distributors, digitization of networks, new operational models, and regulation. I feel a lack of a more integrated vision. There are several efforts happening in parallel, but I don't see anything happening in a coordinated way in the Brazilian electricity sector.
What is your assessment of the advancement of batteries in Brazil?
Batteries will undoubtedly be an important part of the solution. But I also think there's a risk of treating storage as an isolated solution. When I look at other markets, I see that storage usually comes with new operational models, grid digitization, economic signaling, and regulatory modernization. My feeling is that Brazil has moved very quickly in expanding renewables, but is still a little behind when it comes to the system flexibility agenda.
Has distributed generation grown more than the sector anticipated?
Without a doubt. I've been following this market since the beginning. When I started working with solar, around 2011, the discussion was still about the regulations that later gave rise to Resolution 482. Today we're talking about almost 50 GW of distributed generation. It's an impressive transformation.
This growth has brought enormous benefits to consumers and to the energy transition, but it has also created challenges that no one fully understood when this market began.
Has Aneel been able to keep up with this speed of transformation?
I see highly qualified professionals working in the electricity sector, but I also see limitations inherent in the Brazilian regulatory model. When you compare it to countries like the United States or India, for example, there is a greater possibility of testing solutions locally before expanding them. In many cases, regulation happens at the state level.
In Brazil, we are talking about a national system that is very complex and extremely regulated. This brings advantages, but it also makes some processes slower. Sometimes there is an expectation that the regulator will be able to anticipate trends, but the speed of change has been very rapid.
What can we expect from the opening of the free market to smaller consumers?
I think it will happen because it's part of an important agenda to modernize the sector. But I also agree that it's not a simple moment. Prices are high, the environment is more complex, and serving smaller consumers requires a different kind of strategy.
The experience of distributed generation shows this. The companies that managed to grow were those that learned to speak the consumer's language. I believe that the free market will follow a similar path. It will require more technology, more simplicity, and communication that is much closer to people's reality.
What is the main challenge for the Brazilian electricity sector in the coming years?
I think the challenge is finding a new point of equilibrium. Brazil has been extremely successful in expanding renewables and democratizing access to energy generation. Now we need to build the necessary tools to operate this new system.
When we talk about distributed generation, storage, digitization, flexibility, and grid modernization, we're talking about pieces of the same puzzle. And, in my view, what's lacking is precisely this coordination. There's a lack of an integrated vision to address the challenges that distributed generation and the energy transition are bringing to the Brazilian electricity sector.
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