Brazil witnessed a marginal decline in solar module imports in 2023, importing 17.5GW compared to the previous year, according to findings from Brazilian PV research and consultancy firm Greener.
Although there was a decrease of 0.3GW in imported modules between 2023 and 2022, the final quarter of 2023 marked a notable upswing, with over 5GW of PV modules imported – the highest quarterly import figure ever recorded by Greener.
However, the onset of 2023 saw a stark 60% year-on-year drop in imports during the first quarter, with only 3.5GW of modules brought in, attributed to challenges in accessing credit and elevated interest rates.
Between November and December, Brazil imported nearly 4GW of modules from China, with a portion of this shipment yet to arrive in the country, slated to be tallied in the first quarter of 2024.
Despite distributed generation leading the market in installed solar capacity, accounting for 25.8GW compared to 11.4GW of utility-scale capacity by December 2023, as reported by trade association Absolar, imports for distributed generation experienced a 2GW decline in market share from 75% to 65% in 2023.
Regarding installed capacity, utility-scale solar saw significant growth in 2023, with 4GW added to the grid, up from 2.8GW in 2022. Overall, the total installed capacity stood at 11.4GW for utility-scale and over 26GW for distributed generation by the year's end, as per Greener's data. Solar PV now contributes 16.5% to Brazil's electricity generation.
With nearly 7GW of solar capacity currently under construction, expected to become operational between 2024 and 2025, the sector anticipates further expansion.
In earlier developments this year, Infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital committed to invest up to US$400 million in Brazilian distributed generation company Órigo Energia. This investment is earmarked to support a pipeline of 2GW of distributed generation projects.
