Brazilian Development Bank accredits 17 solar equipment manufacturers

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
, BNDES verifies that the manufacturers are compliant with local content requirements. Credit: Globo Brazil

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has qualified 17 solar equipment manufacturers to receive funding in Brazil.

Of the accredited companies, five are domestic companies that produce PV panels locally, seven produce inverters and two manufacture trackers that follow the sun’s trajectory throughout the day. Meanwhile, another five produce central junction boxes for PV applications. One of the panel manufacturers can supply modules to utility-scale projects, while another four are geared towards residential and commercial rooftop applications.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

In order to be accredited, BNDES verifies that the manufacturer is compliant with local content requirements, which is a prerequisite to receiving funding from the development bank.

BNDES offers financing to PV players that follow a progressive nationalisation plan for equipment manufacturing including a level of local content compliance. For example, to qualify for funding, from 2018 all junction boxes, inverters and support structures used in projects need to be sourced locally.

The bank is currently in the process of qualifying another three foreign-based manufacturers and one Brazilian manufacturer.

A BNDES statement said: “These are large companies, and that brings more security to the sector, as they will be able to meet auction projects and distributed generation.”

Once all the qualified facilities are up and running, they will have a combined capacity of 1GW per annum, which the bank claims is roughly the same amount of capacity that has been contracted in each of the recent solar energy auctions in Brazil, of which one occurred in 2014 and two in 2015.

Another two solar auctions are expected this year and the bank has declared its willingness to support solar energy projects whether through auctions for large-scale solar or for distributed generation.

However, earlier this month, developers of the majority of projects awarded in Brazil’s first solar-only tender round in 2014, submitted a request to the regulator to delay construction by two years, citing market conditions as the reason for the request.

Nevertheless, BNDES also said it expects solar to follow a similarly successful path to wind energy in Brazil, which already has a 6% share in Brazil’s energy matrix.

Read Next

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
April 10, 2024
Dallas, Texas USA
Solar Media Events
April 17, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal
Solar Media Events
May 1, 2024
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
May 21, 2024
Napa, USA