Subscription solar energy arrives in Greater São Paulo – 07/20/2023 – Market

Energytech Sun Mobi will start offering subscription solar energy next month to consumers in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region and capital, a market with great growth potential and which until then was unexplored for the service already widespread in the interior and coast of São Paulo and in other states.

The energy to serve customers, mainly small businesses and homes, will be generated in a solar plant installed on the roof of logistics warehouses in Cajamar (Grande SP). With 2.5 megawatts of power, the development was built by an engineering company that partnered with Sun Mobi, with estimated investments between R$ 10 million and R$ 15 million.

“The plant is already in operation, we are only in the final formal processes with the concessionaire [distribuidora Enel São Paulo] change of ownership… This should happen next month”, stated Guilherme Susteras, partner at Sun Mobi.

One of the forms of distributed energy generation, which is growing at significant rates in Brazil, “subscription” solar energy does not require the installation of solar panels at the place of consumption and other investments by the consumer.

The service can be hired digitally and, after authorization by the supplier with the energy distributor, the consumer becomes linked to a remote solar plant, receiving credits for this generation that reduce the final value of their electricity bill.

The main markets currently for the “solar subscription” are Minas Gerais, in the concession area of ​​Cemig, Brazil’s largest distributor, and the interior and coast of São Paulo, today the main state for distributed generation, in areas served by CPFL, for example.

One of the difficulties for this service to reach the capital of São Paulo was finding an area for the construction of solar plants, pointed out Susteras.

“For a 2.5 MW plant, you need about 2.5 hectares. Then you calculate how much an area like that costs in the city of São Paulo or Greater São Paulo. It is very difficult to find”, explained the partner at Sun Mobi, who is one of the first energytechs to operate in this market in Brazil.

The alternative was to use the roof of logistic sheds to install the photovoltaic panels.

“Our plant was built as part of the original shed project. Some shed operators, at the turn of law 14,300 [marco legal da geração distribuída]have already asked permission to one day build [usinas] on their roofs. Perhaps in the next six to 18 months, we’ll see other shed operators opening up their rooftop plants,” he said.

According to the executive, the subscription modality allows “democratizing” access to renewable energy for homes and small businesses and services, which is the focus of the company.

“Our main focus is micro and small businesses, which are the group that most weighs energy as part of the budget. And usually they are entrepreneurs who do not have access to credit to make their own investment. They are restaurants, bakeries, laundries, small neighborhood markets.”

Energytech currently offers the service in the interior and coast of São Paulo, in the concession area of ​​CPFL Piratininga, and also in cities in Paraná served by Copel. By the end of the year, the expectation is to inaugurate another plant, this time for customers in the area of ​​Elektro distributor, from Neoenergia.

In addition to Sun Mobi, other companies have been investing in the segment, which is still not very representative in distributed generation, with 610 MW of power compared to a total of 22,000 MW of solar systems distributed in Brazil, according to data from the regulatory agency Aneel compiled by the Absolar association.

Among the companies that were attracted to this market are Cemig SIM, Energisa, Órigo — an investee of Mitsui and investment funds — and even telecom operators.