What to expect from the photovoltaic solar energy market in 2022

When 2021 began, our expectation was that we would be free from the Covid-19 pandemic within a few months. Contrary to this, we saw new waves emerge even stronger, especially in the first half of the year. In parallel, we face challenges related to international logistics, freight and exchange rate fluctuations.

But, even in the face of all adversity, the Brazilian DG market (distributed generation) has grown a lot. This January we will know the final number released by ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency), but we will probably close at around 4 GW of installed power, which represents a growth of 70% in the year. And on Ecori Solar Energy We ended 2021 with growth of around 120%.

Based on this, what do we expect for 2022? Without a doubt, it will be a year of great growth in all sectors – residential, commercial, large plants, agribusiness, etc. I believe we will reach 7,7 GW of distributed generation.

If we think about 500 W panels, there will be 15 million modules! The market also tends to remain more stable and more robust than in 2021. Companies in the sector have matured over the past year and are more prepared to meet global demand.

We also observed a maturation of the sector as a whole in Brazil, with more prepared professionals, both in the commercial and technical aspects. There is still a lot to be done in relation to professionalization, but we are taking important steps in this regard.

Looking at the international market, we see a huge rush for renewable energy. I was recently in Europe and noticed an increase in the use of photovoltaic solar energy even in places with low solar irradiation, such as London. I was very impressed.

I was also in a village in Belgium and when passing through a street, on the way to a train station, I noticed that around 40% of the houses had photovoltaic panels installed, especially on very difficult and very sloping roofs. And the most important thing is that everyone is happy with the results, with the tax incentives they receive for using renewable energy, for example.

This is a trend that will only accelerate over the years, especially reinforced by what we saw during COP 26 (United Nations Conference on Climate Change), in Glasgow, Scotland. Take France, which used less energy from renewable sources and saw a significant increase in solar energy adoption in 2021. In India, a large and populous country, solar energy use doubled.

Looking at a long-term scenario, we see the development of smart technologies and cities, with the use of electric cars that will also function as energy storage for homes, even to inject energy into the electrical grid. This scenario is not in the distant future, we are talking about just a few years.

And I couldn't help but look inside too. At Ecori, the beginning of 2022 marks the arrival of two new microinverter models from APsystems that are disruptive, not only for the Brazilian market, but for Latin America as a whole.

The QT2D is the world's most powerful three-phase microinverter and the DS3D is the world's most powerful single-phase dual microinverter as well. The two models are innovative, have high technology and flexibility, serving more than 80% of photovoltaic solar energy installations with MLPE in the country. O QT2D and DS3D form a perfect set with 670 W+ high power modules. We couldn't be more excited about it all!

The opinions and information presented are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Canal Solar.