A Brazilian consortium is testing a new floating PV system design on a lake in the state of Sao Paulo. The facility is setting standards for future development of floating arrays in Brazil.

The 10th edition of Brazil’s Intersolar South America trade show grew from last year’s event in terms of exhibitors and visitors. The Brazilian solar market is now on track to maintain its position as one of the world’s largest, despite a slight contraction this year.

Livoltek plans to build a 1.8 GW inverter factory in Manaus, northern Brazil. It says the facility will manufacture single-phase and three-phase devices.

Sao Paulo-based Clean Energy Latin America says green hydrogen could be produced in Brazil at a levelized cost of hydrogen (LCoH) of $2.87 and $3.56 per kg in some strategic locations.

BayWa re has agreed to acquire Ribeiro Solar, a Brazilian PV distributor headquartered in Curitiba, Paraná. The company also operates distribution centers in Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Pernambuco.

Brazil installed 2.3 GW of large-scale solar and 4.5 GW of distributed-generation PV in the first six months of this year.

Brazilian consultancy Greener says that Brazil imported 7.8 GW of solar modules in the first half of this year, down 21% year on year. However, it says a reduction in distributors’ inventories and module prices could drive up cost competitiveness in the second half.

Brazil has announced a new 2 GW solar strategy. It plans to build 2 million new social housing units by 2026 and will deploy two PV modules in each home, providing 1 kW of power per dwelling.

Elera Renováveis has commissioned the 1.2 GW Janaúba solar complex. The facility, which went online this week, consists of 20 solar parks spread across 3,000 hectares.

Brazil’s distributed PV systems, including installations up to 5 MW in size, have surpassed 22 GW of cumulative capacity. By the end of June, more than 2 million arrays had been deployed nationwide.