Brazil has just surpassed the mark of 50 gigawatts (GW) of installed operational solar energy power. The country became the sixth to reach this level, joining the United States, China, Germany, India and Japan.
The data was released this Tuesday (26) by the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar). In relation to the size of generation systems, the production of own solar energy through small and medium-sized systems leads with 33.5 GW of installed power. Large solar plants represent 16.5 GW.
From January to October, 119 solar plants were installed in the country, which added 4.54 GW of electrical power monitored in Brazil. The data are from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel). As it represents the actually installed power, the monitored power is slightly lower than the power granted by the regulatory agency.
Participation
According to Absolar, the solar source represents 20.7% of the installed capacity of the Brazilian electrical matrix, ranking second among the available systems and second only to hydroelectric energy. This division considers the installed operational power, not the consumption in the electrical system.
According to Aneel’s Generation Information Systemsolar energy represents 7.94% of the electrical power monitored in the country. However, this percentage only considers the 16.5 GW produced by solar plants.
Since 2012, reported Absolar, solar energy has generated investments of R$229.7 billion in Brazil and resulted in the collection of R$71 billion to public coffers. This energy source prevented the emission of 60.6 million tons of carbon dioxide in the country.
Review
The entity, however, criticizes the increase from 9.6% to 25% of the Import Tax on solar panel inputs and components. The measure was approved two weeks ago by the Executive Management Committee of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Gecex-Camex).
For Absolar, taxation discourages investments and compromises the growth rate of clean energy sources at a time of energy transition. The Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic) justified the measure as necessary to strengthen local industry and generate jobs in Brazil.
Check the world ranking in accumulated solar energy power.
1) China – 817 GW
2) United States – 189.7 GW
3) Germany – 94.36 GW
4) India – 92.12 GW
5) Japan – 90.4 GW
6) Brazil – 50 GW
Source: Absolar