The installed power of solar energy in commercial establishments doubled in the 1st half of 2020 in Brazil compared to the same period in 2019. This is what an exclusive survey carried out by Canal Solar.
In the first six months of this year, photovoltaic energy in commercial buildings, stores and companies reached 411 MW of power, an increase of 106% compared to 199 MW from January to June 2019.
“This growth confirms that the photovoltaic DG (distributed generation) sector is still expanding. We can say that it is a segment that has characteristics of exponential growth. Even in a situation of economic crisis, of uncertainty, in which several sectors of the economy stagnated, the DG market showed a significant increase in relation to the previous year”, highlighted Bárbara Rubim, vice president of DG at ABSOLAR (Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association).
For the executive, solar energy and DG are allies for consumers and Brazilians because they add more resilience to business, helping to bring more predictability and cost reduction. “So when we talk about a program to help Brazil recover from the effects caused by the coronavirus, that this program includes measures to encourage renewable energy and own energy generation”, concluded Bárbara.
Growth by region
The research carried out by Canal Solar also showed that from January to June 2020, the Southeast was the region that presented the largest installed capacity of solar energy in commercial establishments, with 183 MW. Compared to the first half of the previous year, which was 68 MW, the power almost tripled.
In second comes the Northeast, with 80 MW of power (2019 – 34 MW), and in third is the South, with 74 MW (2019 – 64 MW).
Growth by state
The study found that Minas Gerais was the state with the highest installed capacity of photovoltaic energy in commercial areas this year, with 92 MW, an increase of 180% compared to 33 MW in 2019.
In second comes São Paulo, with 65 MW (2019 – 21 MW), and in third is Rio Grande do Sul, with 53 MW (2019 – 30 MW).
The survey was carried out based on data from ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency).
Stores invest in solar energy
Proof of this increase was the agreement that Magazine Luiza signed with GreenYellow for the supply and monitoring of photovoltaic energy for 214 stores in the network. The contract, which works within the rental model, provides for the delivery of 9.307,1 MWh per year.
The project's total investment is R$18 million and involves energy generated at the photovoltaic plants of Coroados and Riolândia, in the state of São Paulo, and Florestópolis, in Paraná, which together have 4.861 KWp of installed power.
The Bahian department store chain Le Biscuit, one of the largest retail chains in the country, installed a photovoltaic system in its CD (distribution center) in Salvador (BA), providing savings of R$100 per month.
In total, the CD has an area of almost 10 thousand meters², with a capacity of more than 1 MW of power. The installation, which has 37 Fronius inverters, was carried out by Enersol Brasil and can be considered one of the largest distributed generation photovoltaic installations in the country, according to Matthias Ogonovszky, managing partner of the company.
