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Despite our reports in March and earlier this month, the Brazilian Secretary of Energy Planning and Development of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Altino Ventura Filho, has announced that solar energy will not form part of auctions in order to augment generation of solar power.
The minister suggested that foreign investors have calculated a 15 – 20% annual drop in price in five years time, when solar energy would become more competitive and would be able to stand up against other renewables such as wind power, which is fairly established in the country.
The government states that low demand for solar power means there is no urgency to develop it presently and offers more time for evaluation.
Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency, ANEEL, is to implement two new solar incentive policies to increase the number of PV projects throughout South America. The first change will reduce taxes by 80% on energy produced. The second revision will be directed at increasing demand for small scale systems by creating a true net-metering system for residential and commercial installations.
Historically, Brazil has been slower to promote the use of solar PV having been surpassed by Chile, Peru, and Argentina in terms of promoting large-scale PV power plant development. However, by implementing policies that promote growth across customer segments, Brazil is now positioning itself to be a key driver of PV installations in the South America region.
The Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency, ANEEL, has announced proposals to implement two new policies that could drastically increase PV demand in South America’s largest economy. The first policy will introduce an 80% reduction in taxes on energy produced by solar power plants. The second policy involves a net-metering system for smaller scale residential and commercial systems.
NPD Solarbuzz has forecast a year-on-year growth rate of over 350% in 2012, with the prospect of triple-digit growth out to 2014, for South America, surprisingly, to be led by Brazil.
