Brazil saw the installation of 551 MW of large scale solar power capacity in the year 2019 contributing to the country's total power addition of 7,246.41 MW during the year which means it exceeded its annual energy addition target of 5,781 MW, reported National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) of Brazil.
Overall, Brazil had 3,970 solar power plants operational in the country at the end of 2019 ensuring the technology contributed 1.46% of the total installed power of 170.07 GW, with more than 75% coming from renewable sources.
Wind power continues its lead over large-scale solar with 971 MW added last year accounting for 9.04% of aggregate energy mix. This renewable resource beat thermoelectric that contributed 776 MW in 2019.
The largest source of electricity generation in the South American country remains hydro power that represents 4,839 MW of projects either opened or completed last year, comprising 4,755 MW of large hydro power capacity.
The EPE numbers do not reflect the distributed generation capacity for the year 2019, but SolarPower Europe in its Global Market Outlook (GMO) 2019-2023 shared that of 1.2 GW newly added solar capacity in 2018 in the country, 802.7 MW came from centralized generation, and remaining 390.2 MW from distributed generation (see SolarPower Europe: 800 GW New PV By 2023).
"By the end of 2019, the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (ABSOLAR) projects an additional 1 GW to be added to the grid, yet this time, spearheaded by the distributed generation market, which is expected to more than double in relation to 2018,"reads the GMO. "The total cumulative solar PV operational installed capacity is projected to surpass the 3 GW mark and reach approximately 3.3 GW by the end of 2019."
Solar PV in A-4 New Energy Auction 2020
Brazilian Energy Research Company (EPE) has started project registration for A-4 New Energy Auction for the year 2020 with solar PV being one of the participating technologies along with wind, hydroelectric and biomass thermal.
The auction is scheduled to take place on May 28, 2020 and begin supplying power to the national grid beginning January 1, 2024. Projects related to these technologies that were registered with EPE for A-4 and A-6 energy auctions of 2019 can also participate in the 2020 A-4 auction round.
Companies need to submit relevant documents to register their projects with the EPE latest by January 17, 2020. Details can be accessed on EPE website.
Renewable energy, particularly solar power, has been growing its clout in the country thanks to the various auctions being conducted by the government. In the last round, A-6 New Energy Auction, Brazil contracted 2,979 MW of new renewable power capacity with solar settling for 530 MW and bringing the lowest average winning tariff of BRL 84.39 per MWh among all competing technologies (see Brazil Allocates 530 MW To Solar Under A-6 Auction).
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro expressed his support for the solar industry earlier this year when he said his government will not implement taxes on solar energy, in contrast to ANEEL that said it would reduce incentives for solar power, reported Reuters.