Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) counts the country to have installed 2.677 GW of new utility solar PV capacity in 2022, while local solar PV association ABSOLAR believes the cumulative installed solar power capacity of Brazil has reached 23.9 GW making it the country's 2nd largest power generation source now.
ANEEL statistics show Brazil installed 8.23 GW new centralized power generation capacity in 2022, dominated by renewables. Out of this—apart from solar PV—wind power plants accounted for 2.92 GW, thermal power stations 1.35 GW, biomass facilities 904.9 MW, and hydroelectric plants contributed another 374.6 MW.
Minas Gerais reported the largest increase in capacity with 1.536 GW out of which 1.176 GW came from solar power plants. State of Piaui installed another 339 MW solar in 2022.
At the end of December 2022, Brazil's total operational power generation capacity was 188.98 GW out of which 83.24% was renewable powered.
Local media reports refer to ABSOLAR to state that with 23.9 GW cumulative installed solar PV capacity in Brazil in the 1st week of January 2023, this technology has surpassed wind energy whose aggregate now stands at 23.8 GW. Solar PV capacity installations add up from 16 GW of distributed generation and 7.9 GW of utility scale solar. Overall, solar energy now represents 11.2% of the national electricity mix.
In 2023, the association forecasts another 10 GW of new PV capacity becoming operational in Brazil, representing a total investment worth BRL 50 billion ($9.4 billion).
ABSOLAR had previously announced Brazil to have installed 22 GW aggregate solar till early November 2022 (see Brazil Exceeds 22 GW Solar PV Capacity Milestone).