PV in Brazil: 382 projects accredited for auction on August 14th

article orginally published on www.solarserver.com, in June 4th, 2015

Solar PV rooftop system at a football stadium in Brazil

Brazil’s Energy Research Company (EPE), which is conducting the nation’s Reserve Energy Auctions, on June 1st, 2015 announced that the volume of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects accredited for the next tender adds up to an installed capacity of 12,528 megawatts (MW).

The 382 PV projects will now enter the qualification phase, in order to participate in the PV only tender scheduled for August 14th, 2015.

Brazil’s government sets a ceiling price for the energy tenders, and developers bid down the price at which they are willing to sell solar power from the projects. The lowest bids win long-term power purchase agreements. In the October 2014 auction PV developers agreed on an average solar power sales price of approx. USD 71.77 (MWh), amongst the cheapest in the world.

Brazil has set a goal of reaching 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar PV capacity by 2023, producing about 1.8 percent of the country’s electricity, up from less than 35 MW in 2014.

Brazilian State Minas Gerais To Invest $324 Million In Solar PV Projects

Article originally published in www.cleantechnica.com, on May 11th 2015

Minas Gerais, the south-eastern state of Brazil, has announced that it will start auctions of solar photovoltaic power plants later this year.

The state government recently announced that it will facilitate auction of large-scale solar power projects in August. It will also support the development of these projects by investing $324 million into the project projects which are expected to be commissioned in 2017.

The financial support is not expected to be limited to the solar power projects but the government may also support development of solar PV modules manufacturing units in the state.

The media reports did not clarify whether these auctions would be different from the national solar power auction held last year. In October 2014, the National Electric Energy Agency organised country’s first solar-only auction and it received an overwhelming response from the developers.

Prospective developers placed bids for 400 projects with total generation capacity of about 10 GW. A total of 31 solar power parks were finally auctioned to developers representing 1,048 MW capacity. The power generated from the projects would be sold through 20-year power purchase agreements. Implementation of all the 31 solar power parks would require a cumulative investment of $1.66 billion from the companies.

Brazil has become a highly attractive market with leading global developers like Enel Green Power and SunEdison looking to aggressively expand their footprint in this emerging market.

Brazil is heavily dependent on hydro power projects. A huge majority of its electricity comes from large hydro power projects which have been controversial for their adverse environmental effects. The Brazilian government, however, is looking to push into other renewable energy technologies as well. Earlier this year, a floating solar PV power project of 350 MW capacity on the Balbina hydroelectric plant was announced. Once commissioned, the project would among the largest floating solar power projects in the world.