brazil

Brazil's almost negligible solar deployment record is forecast to take off this year and the first movements on building Enel Green Power's 254MW plant in Bahia are symbolic of this shift in Brazil's utility-scale sector.

Representatives of Brazil’s Chamber of Mines and Energy Committee have approved legislation that includes new solar financing options and tax exemptions for solar cell and module imports, but the proposals must still pass through two more commissions to become law, according to a leading industry figure.

A round-up of solar news from throughout the holiday period including SunEdison deals, Qatar's next solar steps and the verdict in Heraeus' patent case.

Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) has launched a programme encouraging consumers to generate their own power from renewable energy sources, with a particular emphasis on solar.

Governor of the Brazilian state of Piaui, Wellington Dias, has met with Switzerland-based PV manufacturing equipment supplier Meyer Burger to discuss the setting up of a solar module factory in the municipality of Paulistana, Piaui, in Northeast Brazil.

Spain-based firm Soltec Energías Renovables has begun manufacturing its SF utility tracker controllers in its plant located in Bahia, Brazil, and the firm has made some design changes for the Brazilian version of the controllers.

Brazil’s Development Bank (BNDES) has raised US$100 million from three Japanese banks in order to invest in clean energy projects.

Renewable energy firm SunEdison has cancelled a US$250 million deal to buy a 16% stake in Brazil’s largest renewable energy company, Renova Energia S.A, which is the second time in two months that the developer has pulled out of deals in the Latin American region.

The Latin America region saw 181MW of utility-scale solar PV come online in Q3 2015, down 50% from the historic 363MW of installations in Q2, but still helping the market's ability to strengthen growth and move towards maturity in 2016, according to GTM Research’s ‘Latin America Q3 Playbook’.

Brazil’s energy regulator the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) has approved an “historic” revision of the country’s net metering scheme for small-scale renewable energy systems, making it amongst the most forward-thinking countries in this sector, according to Rodrigo Sauaia, the director of Brazil’s solar industry association, Absolar.