The second day of the Intersolar South America tradeshow happening in Sao Paulo, Brazil, showed companies’ eagerness for a bigger share of this huge solar market. New certifications, growth of the utility-scale business via power purchase agreements (PPAs), and opportunities for storage were recurring topics.

August 25, 2022 Beatriz Santos

ABSolar announced a new voluntary quality certification during Intersolar South America.

Image: ABSolar

With continuous growth expected and many new players entering Brazil’s solar market, the biggest PV distributors are focused on educating the market. A key message they want to share is that not all products are created equal.

pv magazine met with Aldo Teixeira, the founder of Brazil’s biggest distributor, Aldo Solar, and a solar celebrity in the country, who said the company expects to experience 60 to 70% growth next year, in the worst-case scenario. Under the company’s new CEO, Juliano Ohta, the distributor is focusing on educating solar integrators about the importance of quality and professionalism.

Ecori Solar, another top five Brazilian distributor of PV products, is offering certifications for integrators, and plans to only work with companies that meet its certification in the future. The company has a training center in Sao Paulo where it offers training courses.

The Brazilian solar energy association, ABSolar, meanwhile announced its own voluntary quality certification during Intersolar South America. Companies will be certified on three levels: most complete, intermedium, and meets basic requirements.

Growing demand

Both Aldo Solar and Ecori Solar predict demand for solar-plus-storage hybrid systems will grow in 2023, despite little market interest in storage at present given its high CAPEX – a figure of particular importance in Brazil. With Law 14.300 introducing a new net metering regime from January 6, 2023, storage may become more attractive for prosumers who would otherwise have to pay fees to inject excess energy into the grid.

Consulting firm Greener introduced a new study about utility-scale solar plants, reporting that 3.8 GW of projects are under development in 2022. Connection to the grid is still a concern for 48% of the companies interviewed, for whom storage may also prove a promising investment in the future.

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