RS is the second state in solar distributed generation power in the field

Of the almost 3 thousand MW of installed power in solar distributed generation (in which the consumer produces their own energy) in Rio Grande do Sul, around 572 MW are concentrated in the rural sector. This performance places the State in second place in this segment in Brazil, surpassed only by Minas Gerais, with around 870 MW. In the country as a whole, the field has approximately 4,600 MW of capacity through photovoltaic panels, according to data from the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel).

Despite having practically doubled its power in around two years, rising from 243 MW to its current level, the state coordinator of the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (Absolar) and director of Solled Energia, Mara Schwengberinforms that both in the agribusiness segment, and in general, the growth of solar energy is no longer as exponential as it was until 2022. “But, it continues to grow, year after year, and we see this increase in installations”, emphasizes the leader.

This “slowdown” is mainly due to regulatory changes that lengthened the return on investment in the installation of photovoltaic systems. However, Mara points out that the subsidies on rural producers’ electricity bills have been reducing and, on the other hand, the cost of energy for these consumers has been rising, which still makes distributed generation attractive.

“Today, one of the main costs involved in this activity, apart from inputs for agribusiness, is energy”, points out the Absolar representative. Mara also highlights that the price of photovoltaic equipment is falling over time, having reduced by around 40%, compared to what was practiced in 2022.

An advantage for the rural producer in relation to the energy consumer in urban areas for the use of distributed generation, pointed out by the director, is the fact that he normally has more availability of space to place photovoltaic systems. This situation, argues Mara, allows rural producers to see solar energy as a business opportunity, not just a solution for themselves. She details that there are owners taking advantage of part of their land to install small photovoltaic plants to be rented.

The state coordinator of Absolar also mentions that the prospect of increasing the use of batteries to store the solar energy produced is another action that should give new life to the sector. Companies in the segment are already targeting this market and among these companies are MTR Solar and GoodWe, which developed the Battery Energy Storage System called MTR BESS.

THE commercial technical director of MTR BESS, Merivaldo Britodetails that the customer can choose, for example, to use photovoltaic panels, batteries and generators in a combined way to prevent failures by the local distributor in the energy supply from causing greater disruption to their production. He emphasizes that the hybrid solution allows the consumer to depend less on the energy company, in addition to being possible to reduce costs. “We talk about energy autonomy”, highlights the director.

According to Brito, in Rio Grande do Sul, which has recently been experiencing successive more intense climatic events, the attractiveness of this initiative is greater because of the afraid of running out of electricity. The commercial technical director of MTR BESS comments that the equipment can be installed, for example, in silos to store grains, used in irrigation with pivots, in raising chickens, among other functions.