World Consumer Day: Solar Energy is for All Consumer Classes 

Brazil celebrates the arrival of Consumer Day on March 15th with three important consumer classes that benefit from solar energy close to reaching symbolic and relevant milestones in the micro and mini distributed generation segment.

According to data from ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency), commercial, rural and industrial sector projects with photovoltaic systems will reach the 8 GW, 4 GW and 2 GW marks of power in GD (distributed generation) in the coming days.

Adding all this volume to the other consumption classes – such as residential and properties under the responsibility of the Public Authority – the self-generation of energy through photovoltaic connections already totals almost 28 GW in the country.

Currently, solar energy also has 2,45 million microgeneration and minigeneration plants distributed throughout the national territory and which together benefit more than 3,5 million UCs (consumer units).

The evolution of Solar GD in Brazil, it is mainly due to the benefits offered by this modality, in different aspects. For consumers, the segment has become an alternative to ensure predictability and cost reduction in the electricity bill, in addition to contributing to the energy transition.

In relation to the national electrical system, self-generation of solar energy helps to reduce transmission and distribution costs and contributes to the security of the system, in addition to using renewable sources that help to decarbonize the planet.

To celebrate the growth of the sector in the country, especially distributed generation on Consumer Day, the Canal Solar brings five cases of people and companies from different consumer classes that embraced the benefits of solar energy and that show the multifaceted nature of the technology in the market.

Solar energy turbine sustainable home

In the city of Curitiba (PR), a solar energy project that went into operation in March 2019 and paid for itself helped a couple living in the Pinheirinho neighborhood to make their home even more sustainable.

The generator kit was purchased from Aldo Solar by a customer who was an environmental enthusiast and who had already installed a water heating system with a copper plate and boiler in his home before installing the photovoltaic system.

The water heated by the sun is used in showers, bathroom and kitchen taps, eliminating the need for electric taps and saving energy when taking a shower.

The next step was to install solar energy. To do this, a connection was made consisting of a 3 kW single-phase SMA inverter and 12 335 W photovoltaic modules from BYD, totaling 4,02 kWp.

At the time, the customer had a consumption of around 500 kWh and the system generated, on average, around 350 kWh over the five years installed.

The system was sized via software to position the modules in the best location on the roof and where there would be no shadows from the neighbor's wall or the wall of the house, as the modules were installed on the back roof.

The investment, upfront, was R$17. Today, the customer's bill is around R$150,00 and, after the return on investment, the residence now has two air conditioning units, one in the living room and another in the bedroom to alleviate the heat.

Supermarket: even partners benefit from the source

More than six years ago, the Supermercados Faria chain decided to embrace the benefits of solar energy, installing two 110 kWp plants to power the brand's three commercial units, located in the interior of Minas Gerais.

The project, installed by Losango Energia Solar, was sufficient not only to meet the demand of the projects but was also designed so that the surplus energy credits could be used in the homes of each of the company's five partners.

Heberton Caetano, one of the owners of Supermercado Faria, highlights that – with the financial savings obtained by the solar plants – it was possible to carry out structural improvements in the chain's establishments, such as the expansion of cold rooms, for example.

Today, with the expansion of the units, Caetano explains that the current energy generation is no longer sufficient to meet the company's demand. Therefore, he explains that he and the other partners are already negotiating the installation of a hybrid system with storage.

The use of the battery system aims not only to meet the new demand of the enterprises, but also to ensure that the priority loads of the supermarkets will work when there are outages in the Cemig (Minas Gerais Energy Company) network.

Farm doubles soybean production with solar energy

In the municipality of Jaborandi (BA), Fazenda da Madrugada adopted the use of solar energy to improve the grain irrigation process and managed to double soybean production with the installation of three photovoltaic plants.

With investments of R$3,4 million, the property installed two irrigation pivots and an artesian well to supply a water reservoir, increasing productivity on site with an additional harvest per year.

The project was carried out by the company CGR Energia, with equipment from the distributor WIN Solar, including 540 W bifacial s from JA Solar and an off-grid pumping inverter, totaling 769 kWp.

Technologies allowed the production of solar energy by capturing direct radiation and radiation reflected by the ground.

Even though none of the three plants are connected to the concessionaire's electrical grid, the plant guarantees the use of the pumps for up to ten hours a day, using only sunlight.

Industry: electricity bill drops from R$7 to R$300,00

The natural products company in the pharmaceutical segment, Natural Ervas Produtos Naturais, located in Cachoeira de Itapemirim (ES), has been using solar energy in its operations for just four months, but is already seeing a difference in its energy bill at the end of the month.

The company has a 43,68 kWp system installed on the roof of the industry. The electricity supply is 5.000 kWh per month and the project was developed by Ecotop Energia Renovável.

Osmar Silva, the company's owner, says that investing in a photovoltaic plant for his business was the best decision he ever made, as his electricity bill dropped from R$7 to R$300 per month.

The savings were so substantial that the businessman said he will install a new solar power plant for the company's new unit.

“People don’t realize how economical solar energy is. It’s an investment that’s worth it. You can pay for your project in installments or all at once, and in either case, the return on investment is very quick,” he said.

Did you really think politicians would be left out?

The Paulínia City Council (SP) received the installation of a carport, which began operating in December 2022. The project was built on the roof of the legislative headquarters' parking lot.

In total, R$1,48 million was invested in the project, which has 292 550 W photovoltaic modules from XPower and two 100 kWp inverters each. The estimated payback is approximately six years.

With the solar plant, which generated 352,21 MWh until February 2024, the Legislative House achieved a 50% saving on its monthly energy bill.

Before adopting the benefits of solar energy, the Chamber spent R$16 per month on electricity and, currently, the average is R$8.

“Promoting sustainability and rationalizing public resources are pillars of the management of the Paulínia City Council, alongside transparency and the goal of offering excellent service to the population”, said Edilsinho Rodrigues, president of the Paulínia City Council.

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