Brazil

With around 2,056 MW of operational installed capacity from large-scale PV and more than 500 MW of installed distributed-generation capacity, Brazil has now surpassed Chile to become Latin America’s second-largest solar market after Mexico. According to new statistics released by Brazilian industry association ABSOLAR, utility-scale solar currently accounts for around 1.2% of the country’s total generating capacity.

In a document published in Brazil’s official journal, the Ministry of Energy and Mines said the upcoming procurement exercise will be open to solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric power projects.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines is planning nine energy auctions up to 2021. The plan includes two “new energy” procurements per year – A-4 and A-6 auctions – and one per year for existing power plants. It is unclear whether solar will be eligible and, if so, which auctions it would compete in, but Brazilian solar association ABSOLAR is confident PV will admitted to both.

The two companies entered a technological partnership in 2013 and three years ago the Brazilian company acquired the wind power business of its US peer.

Analysts at PV InfoLink said the number of markets open to new technologies such as half-cut and shingled panels is constantly rising. Australia, Japan, Spain, the UAE and Brazil were cited as the hottest markets for Chinese “special modules”. Total annual production in China for half-cut modules, which are set to increase their market share this year, should reach around 20 GW.

The procurement is planned for May 16 and will award 15-year PPAs to projects based on conventional and renewable energy generation. Solar could help remove the state’s reliance on power generated by a company based in crisis-torn Venezuela.

The plant, under development by Canadian Solar, has secured $80 million from Banco do Nordeste. The facility is scheduled to come online in mid-2020.

The São Pedro solar complex is in Bom Jesus da Lapa, Bahia state. The plant, awarded a 20-year PPA in Brazil’s 2015 renewable energy auction, was installed with Jinko and Canadian Solar modules. The latter makes modules in São Paulo.

Having put key PV projects into commercial operation, the company is capitalizing on their production. Scatec also has twice its current installed capacity under construction and nearly fourfold that amount – more than 4 GW – in the pipeline as 2018 expectations were surpassed.

The global market stagnated last year, with around 98 GW deployed. For 2019, the experts expect stronger solar growth, provided there are no setbacks in China.