The total installed
solar power
Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...
in Brazil was estimated at 53.9 GW at February 2025, which consists of about 21.9% of the country's electricity matrix. In 2023, Brazil was the 6th country in the world in terms of installed solar power capacity (37.4 GW).
Brazil expects to have 1.2 million solar power generation systems in the year 2024. Solar energy has great potential in Brazil, with the country having one of the highest levels of
insolation
Solar irradiance is the power per unit area ( surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument.
Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre ...
in the world at 4.25 to 6.5 sun hours/day. As of 2019, Brazil generated nearly 45% of its energy, or 83% of its electricity, from renewable sources. For example, 60% of Brazil's electricity generation came from renewable hydropower. However, to meet energy demands in the entire country, and to diversify its energy portfolio, other renewable energy sources, such as solar power, are being expanded.
History

In 2016, a factory capable of producing 400 MW of solar panels a year opened in
Sorocaba
Sorocaba () is a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With over 723,000 inhabitants, it is the seventh-largest city in the state and the second-largest outside the Greater São Paulo region, ranking behind only Cam ...
in São Paulo, owned by
Canadian Solar. A plan to build a solar panel factory in
Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", refe ...
was announced by the Chinese manufacturer Chint in 2017.
in 2020 LONGi Signs Association Agreement for 908 MW of Solar Modules in Brazil.
The opening of three major solar farms in Brazil in 2017 altered the solar situation: the 292 MW
Nova Olinda Solar Farm in Ribeira do Piauí, Piauí,
[Enel Starts Operation of South America's Two Largest Solar Parks in Brazil](_blank)
September 18, 2017 the 254 MW
Ituverava Solar Farm in
Tabocas do Brejo Velho,
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
and the 158 MW
Parque Solar Lapa in
Bom Jesus da Lapa, Bahia ranked among the largest installations in the world. The total capacity of these three plants was more than ten times the installed total in the entire country in 2015. A total of 1000 MW is expected to be installed in 2017 with an additional 2000 MW assigned by auctions to be completed in future years.
Rapid growth
In 2021, a number of photovoltaic and financial solutions companies expanded their work in Brazil. Companies such as Absolar, Insole,
Trina Solar
Trina Solar Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese photovoltaics company founded in 1997.
History
In 2018, Trina Solar launched Energy IoT brand, established the Trina Energy IoT Industrial Development Alliance together with leading companies and research ...
, Alexandria, and Evolua Energia saw significant growth. In addition, traditional energy companies such as
Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
and Norway's
Equinor
Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renew ...
began to get involved.
"When we arrived in the country, the market was relatively small and now it's one of the biggest ones in the world," Álvaro García-Maltrás, vice president of Trina Solar in the Caribbean and Latin America, said in a statement.
Evolua Energia concluded its first fundraising of 123mn reais (US$22mn) with a green-labelled real estate receivables certificate. The funds will be used by the company for the construction of new photovoltaic plants in the country until May 2022, with a focus on the shared distributed generation (DG) market.
, total installed capacity of
photovoltaic solar was 15.18 GW, with 10 GW of
distributed solar (where
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
stood out with 1.73 GW,
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
with 1.29 GW and
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
with 1.17 GW of this total) and 5.18 GW in
solar plants (where
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
, with 1,354 MW,
Piauí
Piauí ( ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP.
Piauí has the shortest coastline of any coas ...
, with 1,205 MW,
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
, with 730 MW,
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, with 588 MW and
Ceará
Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...
, with 499 MW stood out).
Brasil ultrapassa marca de 10 GW em micro e minigeração distribuída
/ref>
Installed capacity
See also
* Renewable energy in Brazil
* Solar power by country
* International Solar Alliance
References
4. http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-energy-support-germany-closer-look
5. http://repository.unm.edu/bitstream/handle/1928/15053/Brazil.Solar.Power10.11.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
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