Solar energy at home triples in two years and reaches 1.7 million homes

Residential solar energy is growing rapidly in Brazil. The number of homes using this source tripled in two years, from 565 thousand in October 2021 to 1.7 million in October 2023. During this period, installed power jumped from 3.5 gigawatts (GW) to 12 GW, approaching the capacity of the Itaipu hydroelectric plant (14 GW).

The data comes from the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar) and includes photovoltaic panels installed in houses and apartment buildings, and also so-called subscription solar energy. From January to October this year, accumulated investments in this type of generation rose from R$44.3 billion to R$60.5 billion.

The sector attributes this growth to a number of factors, including the reduction in prices in recent years and the practicality of having sunlight as a source of energy at home, whether through the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof or through subscription models.

Today the market basically has three options for supplying homes with solar energy: installing photovoltaic panels on the roof; install them on a rural property and use the energy for your home in the city; or buy solar energy through the local utility’s electricity network, under the subscription scheme.

Guilherme Susteras, managing partner of the solar energy subscription company Sun Mobi, explains that the model works on a compensation system. The energy is generated in two solar plants in the interior of Paraná, in Palotina and Assaí, and sent to the state concessionaire Copel’s network, from where it is distributed to the customer’s home.

Consumers pay a fixed monthly amount for solar energy, starting at R$300, in addition to a minimum fee to the concessionaire.

“From the consumer’s point of view, they don’t need work, they don’t need to ask permission from the property owner, condominium owner and they don’t need to change ownership”, says Susteras.

Sun Mobi mainly serves small businesses, such as bakeries, butchers and gyms, but there are also individuals on the list. In total, the client list has doubled in the last six months.

According to Susteras, the growth in membership has to do with the increase in electricity bills, which makes consumers look for alternatives. The privatization of Copel also had an influence, according to him.

“We see that people seem to have the perception that now is a good time. The advantage of signing is that the contract is fixed, so it is predictable and not exposed to tariff flags”, he says.

The flags are additional amounts applied to the electricity bill in times of drought, when the country uses less hydroelectric energy and more thermoelectric energy, which increases the overall cost of generation.

In your photovoltaic panel installation business, most of it is usually done by owners who already live in the property, seeking to reduce their electricity bills. Savings can reach 90%, according to Rodolfo Meyer, CEO of Portal Solar.

In properties under construction, especially high-end ones, it is common for the project to already consider the future installation of solar panels, making it easier to fix them to the roof and run cables, he says.

“It is necessary to evaluate the type of tile and the integrity of the construction, to understand whether any type of work is necessary to compensate for the weight of the panels or the installation of support structures to place the solar panels”, he explains.

According to Meyer, market data indicates that the average cost of placing photovoltaic panels on the roof of an “average residence” in Brazil is R$14,720, including equipment and installation.

The executive remembers that even those who choose solar energy are not without the energy distributor’s electrical network, as it is necessary for the solar inverter to operate.

This is the equipment that converts the energy from the panel into electricity for use in the property and guarantees the supply of light at night or other times when the panels do not produce energy.