Brazil Projects Over 13 GW PV By 2026

• Brazil has come out with a 10 year Energy Expansion Plan
• It estimates that the country has the potential to take its solar PV capacity to more than 13 GW by 2026, from 21 MW in 2016
• This includes 9,660 MW of large scale PV capacity under the reference scenario, and 3,500 MW of distributed generation PV
• Renewable energy capacity is expected to increase to 48% by 2026
• Public comments and suggestions are invited for the document till August 6, 2017

Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy is projecting solar power capacity of more than 13 GW to be added by 2026. This includes 9,660 MW of large scale PV capacity under the reference scenario, and 3,500 MW of distributed generation PV.

In its 10-year Energy Expansion Plan (PDE), Brazil's Empressa de Pesquisa Energetica (EPE) or the Energy Research Company has laid out the roadmap for the next decade.

From 2019 onward, it is expecting an annual increase of 1,000 MW. This seems a lot, especially when Brazil's installed capacity was only 21 MW. However, in June, Enel from Italy connected two solar projects with a total of 158 MW to the grid in Brazil's state of Bahia.

Still the 13 GW PV target is  less than the projected total capacity for wind at over 16 GW by 2026, but there was already more than 10 GW installed in Brazil by the end of last year.

The government expects to increase the percentage of renewables in the national total to 48% by 2026. It aims to achieve this percentage by 2021 itself.

The document is not final. It is open for public consultation until August 6, 2017. Further details can be viewed on MEM's website.