A survey by the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (Absolar) shows that since 2012, when the Brazilian government made a major push to develop solar power, Brazil's installed solar capacity has reached 50 gigawatts (GW) and created more than 1.5 million jobs related to this green energy in the country, which is a historic milestone for Brazil. According to the organization, the solar power industry brought about 230 billion reais of investment to Brazil during the period, of which the installed capacity of distributed solar power generation (that is, solar power equipment installed in places close to where electricity is used, such as homes) reached 33.5 GW and that of large-scale photovoltaic power plants reached 16.5 GW.
With this milestone in domestic solar capacity, Brazil joins China, the United States, Japan, Germany and India as one of only six countries in the world with more than 50 gigawatts of installed solar capacity. Among the six countries, China's installed solar capacity ranks first in the world, and the United States ranks second.
The Brazilian Solar Photovoltaic Association said that after the Brazilian solar installed capacity exceeded the 50 GW mark, it has reached 20.7% of the total installed capacity of various types of power energy in Brazil, becoming the second largest power source after hydropower stations. According to the latest report from the National System Operations Agency (ONS), solar has also been performing well in terms of actual electricity generation in Brazil, and has now surpassed the generation of wind power, which is now the third largest source of electricity in the country, accounting for 11.89%. According to the Absolar Association statistics, since 2012, Brazil has vigorously developed solar power generation, solar power has helped Brazil reduce about 60.6 million tons of carbon dioxide and generated more than 71 billion reais for the national Treasury.
At a time when Brazil's installed solar power capacity is among the top six in the world, the Brazilian federal government has raised the import tax on photovoltaic modules (solar panels) from 9.6% to 25%. The Absolar Association strongly opposes the government's tariff increase, arguing that it is detrimental to the future development of solar technology in Brazil, and will also make the installation and use of solar energy more expensive for residential, commercial, industrial and rural users, increasing the difficulty of obtaining solar power equipment. The clean energy of solar energy is one of the main energy types in the global response to climate change.
Ronaldo Koloszuk, President of the Absolar Association, said: "While the fact that Brazil reached the 50 GW solar capacity mark is cause for celebration, the government's unilateral tariff hike without listening to society and the market threatens the industry's future development and investment in Brazil," he said. It could also lead to further inflation in Brazil, the loss of green energy jobs and more policy uncertainty for solar companies operating in Brazil."
Rodrigo Sauaia, Absolar Association, said: "The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference has just concluded in Azerbaijan and the 30th will be held at the end of next year in the city of Belen in Para State, Brazil. However, Brazil's measures to increase import duties on solar photovoltaic cell equipment run counter to global efforts to promote the energy transition."
According to the association's analysis, the government's measures to increase import duties on photovoltaic modules may make some solar power projects completely unviable, because the financing associated with the project will be cancelled, creating a high risk for the construction of large-scale solar power plants. The financing of solar power construction projects requires the equipment used to obtain certification and relevant quality standards, and Brazil's domestic production of photovoltaic power generation equipment does not yet have these conditions, so it has to buy imported equipment, and the import tax on these equipment has been raised by the government.
Absolar said: "The only two PV module factories currently in the country do not even have the capacity to supply 5% of the country's solar panel demand, as they have a maximum production capacity of 1 GW of installed capacity equipment per year, while the Brazilian solar market will already demand more than 17 GW of installed capacity during 2023 alone."
