An Overview about the Brazilian Photovoltaic Market Development

There are five main institutions that develop research and provide data regarding photovoltaic energy generation in Brazil, they are: Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL);Energy Research Office (EPE);International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA);Institute for the Development of Alternative Energies in Latin America (IDEAL);and Greener (a research and consultancy company specialized in the photovoltaic solar energy sector). The reports provided by these institutions present a large volume of data and information, this factor makes hard task of understanding the Brazilian photovoltaic market. Therefore, this paper purposes to present an overview about the development of photovoltaic generation in Brazil, through of an unpublished compilation and analysis of the data provided by the institutions previously cited. For this, initially the factors that contributed to the implementation and expansion of this sector are presented. Following, it is presented the main resolutions for the implementation of distributed generation, as well as organizations responsible for the standardization, operation, testing and expected requirements for connection of renewable sources in the electrical system. Quantitative data about energy installed, number of installations approvals, distribution of installations by sector of society, number homologations by power range and cost distribution for the implementation of these systems are provided. Finally, the incentive policies, credit lines and future perspectives for the development of the photovoltaic sector in Brazil are presented.