Brazil’s PV capacity surpasses 38 GW

Brazil’s total installed solar capacity has surpassed 38 GW, including large plants and self-generation systems on rooftops, facades, and small plots of land, representing 16.8% of the country’s electricity mix, according to the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (Absolar).

The association said that since 2012, the solar sector has brought Brazil more than BRL 184.3 billion ($36.7 billion) in new investments, with BRL 60 billion in 2023 alone, creating approximately 1.1 million jobs. This has also reduced emissions of 46.4 million tons of CO2 from electricity generation.

Ronaldo Koloszuk, president of the board of directors of Absolar, said that solar power is a key driver in accelerating Brazil’s decarbonization efforts and positioning the country as a leader in the transition to a more sustainable society.

“With the combination of technologies such as electrical energy storage and green hydrogen, Brazil can, in a short time, boost its sustainable development, with the generation of thousands of new green jobs, bringing more income to workers and more opportunities for our population,” said Koloszuk

Currently, the distributed-generation segment – comprising all PV systems up to 5 MW in Brazil – brings 26.3 GW of capacity to the Brazilian grid, representing approximately BRL 132 billion in investments and BRL 33.9 billion of revenue. It has also added more than 789,000 jobs since 2012, spread across all five regions of Brazil. Solar technology dominates 99.9% of all distributed-generation connections in the country.

In the centralized generation segment, Brazil hosts around 11.7 GW of large solar plants.