Brazil

In a new special, pv magazine Brazil reports on how rising Chinese demand, price volatility and the global tech race are reshaping Brazil’s solar market, with major manufacturers weighing in on supply shifts, pricing and the outlook for storage.

The additions represent marginal growth compared to 2024, according to SolarPower Europe. Last year, the country ranked second in new installations, behind only India (30.7 GW), the United States (50 GW) and China (329 GW). In terms of cumulative capacity through December 2024, the country ranked sixth, with 66.7 GW.

The volume of imported modules was 18% lower than in 2023. After growth in 2024 compared to 2023, installations of large solar plants are expected to face a decline in 2025, with the combination of energy prices close to the floor and worsening curtailment potentially postponing new investments.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Southern Brazil and the northern Andes were irradiance hotspots during March, posting anomalies as high as 30% above the climatological average. The increase came despite intense rainfall causing flooding in other parts of South America.

Brazil has installed 37.4 GW of distributed solar and 17.6 GW of large-scale PV capacity to date.

BASF has commissioned a 54 MW PEM electrolyzer at a site in Germany, while Sungrow Hydrogen has secured a major order for alkaline hydrogen production equipment from China Coal Ordos Energy.

The Brazilian subsidiary of the Belgian company reports that the board of directors deliberated and approved the “discontinuation of the photovoltaic product line,” a decision prompted by Chinese competition. It launched its last module on the market in September 2024.

This type of generation could become the country’s second largest source of generation by 2029, according to the National Electric System Operator (ONS). Distributors should take a more active role in managing DG systems, which have been associated with centralized generation curtailment events, according to the ONS.

Consultancy Greener has estimated the state of Pará offers the most potential for battery rollout because of its high energy tariff. A report issued by the consultant also highlighted the big savings agribusiness could make by using batteries instead of diesel.

Azul Pack has developed a new reflective membrane to increase albedo and energy yield in photovoltaic plants with bifacial modules. In a fixed structure plant located in Minas Gerais, the technology reportedly resulted in a 7% increase in energy at the inverter output.