Brazil’s solar panel imports hit 17.5 GW in 2023

PV module imports fell by 1% year on year in Brazil in 2023, according to a new report from solar consultancy Greener.

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From pv magazine Brazil

Brazil imported 17.5 GW of PV modules in 2023, down by 1.7% from the record of 17.8 GW in 2022, according to a new report by Brazilian consultancy Greener. It said that imports of solar panels surged by 70% in 2022 compared to 2021, with shipments totaling 10.4 GW.

Module imports accelerated in the second half of 2023, with 9.3 GW imported, after importers said they had high inventories throughout the first half, when 8.2 GW were imported. The continuous decline in module prices throughout the year was also a driver for imports, said Greener.

In the last three months of the year alone, 5 GW of imported modules were brought into Brazil – the largest volume ever recorded in a single quarter.

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Greener said China exported approximately 4 GW to Brazil in November and December. But some of this equipment has not yet arrived in the country, and should be reflected in volumes for the first quarter of 2024.

The share of distributed generation, which in Brazil includes all PV systems up to 5 MW in size, decreased from 75% of the annual imported volume in 2022 to 65% in 2023.

Of the 17.5 GW imported in 2023, 11.4 GW were imported to serve the distributed-generation market, down 2 GW from 2022. This decline in the distributed-generation market was mitigated by growth in demand for utility-scale projects, which is expected to continue to rise this year.

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