Brazil planning solar auction

The sun is going to be shining bright in a Latin American nation as well. As per reports by local news agency, Jornal da Energia, Brazil will soon be bringing its first solar auction that will be organised by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

MME secretary Altino Ventura announced that Brazil has plans for a solar auction this year.

Brazil has traditionally focused on production of energy from hydro sources and over 70% of electricity comes from hydro power alone. However, lately due to pressing environmental concerns, there has been a shift towards other sources of energy and solar auction is a step in this direction towards diversifying the sourcing of power in the country.

Brazil pioneered the Proinfa program in 2002 that focused on developing power from multiple sources, namely bioelectricity, small hydro, and wind; a fixed feed-in tariff (different for each technology) was provided and was largely responsible for the development of renewable energy sources in the nation. Wind became the third highest source of power in the country after hydro and bioelectricity.

Future strategy of Brazil is emphasized by the PNE 2030 envisages an electricity saving of 106.62 GWh through energy efficiency measures for 2030.

The solar power potential in the country is huge given the fact that Brazil receives daily a minimum of eight hours of sunshine.

References-

http://jornaldaenergia.com.br/ler_noticia.php?id_noticia=16480&id_secao=17

http://www.iei-la.org/admin/uploads/nopa/sergiobajay.pdf