BYD REACHES 1GWP OF TOTAL SOLAR ENERGY INSTALLATIONS IN BRAZIL
BYD factory in Brazil helped to consolidate the photovoltaic solar energy market, which has now installed 3 GWp in Brazil
BRAZIL– BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium batteries and 100% electric vehicles, has now installed 1 GWp solar panels in Brazil. BYD – a global leader in new energies – is immensely proud to have contributed significantly to the south American country reaching the overall mark of 3 GWp installed (1 GWp in distributed generation only), according to projections of the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (ABSOLAR), and data from Aneel.
Clean Energy and Electric Mobility
In 2017, BYD opened its second Brazilian factory in the city of Campinas, exclusively to produce PV solar panels. Two years earlier, BYD also set up a electric bus production line in Campinas, and also began selling electric vehicles (EVs) and forklifts. According to Aneel, there were 31,896 new connections of micro and mini generators in the Brazilian power network by the end of June 2019, compared to 35,139 systems installed throughout 2018. Considering installed capacity, the volume in the first half of 2019 was about of 361 Megawatts (MWp), which represents 91.85% of all installation in 2018 (393 MWp). These numbers confirm the growing size and importance of PV solar projects in Brazil.
Opening to the distributed generation (GD) market
Between 2017 and 2018, BYD provided its products exclusively to large centralized generation projects, with global customers such as the French Engie, the Norwegian Scatec (now Equinor) and the US-listed AES. However, at the end of 2018, BYD began selling its PV modules through industry distributors targeting the distributed generation market. This cooperation was initially with ALDO Solar, and more recently included other industry leaders like Alsol, PHB, WEG, DEMAPE, HCC, Solbras, Handysolar, Engie, among others.
Gustavo Tegon, Sales Manager at BYD Energy Brazil points out that the company, which is already a global leader in the manufacture of solar panels and energy storage systems, is also a setting a benchmark in Brazil. “Following the establishment of the solar panel factory in Campinas, much of the emerging solar market in Brazil has opted for BYD products for their quality, technology and delivery capability. Having reached almost 1/3 of the national market is a proof of our excellence. ”
BYD and Alsol expanded their partnership in 2017, when Alsol began to set up a solar farm in Uberlândia. Using BYD stationary battery technology, the company was able to develop a pioneering system in the country, integrating a 400 KW solar plant with a 1.36 MWh battery array provided by CEMIG. The creation of this plant was innovative in Brazil, because of the lithium battery storage system, it was possible to generate energy and store the surplus in the batteries. The surplus began to be used at peak hours, between 18:00 and 22:00, allowing it to adequately manage local energy demands.
Alsol is building in the metropolitan region of Campinas Brazil’s largest solar panel distributed generation plant in the state of São Paulo, the TMW Energy solar power plant. For this plant, BYD is supplying 14.4 thousand 330 KMp panels, which will occupy about 80 thousand square meters. The plant will have an installed capacity of 4.75 MWp, with projected generation of 7,318,000 kWh of energy per year.
Delivery of 1 GWp of solar panels in Brazil was to Aldo Solar
Aldo Solar is the largest supplier of solar energy equipment in Brazil’s distributed generation market and is also BYD‘s largest customer in Latin America. The company numbers impress with more than 29,000 solar generators sold and one generator ordered every four minutes. Currently, Aldo is already seen as the fastest growing company in the solar energy segment and boasts the highest availability of solar power generators, able to promptly delivery more than 5,000 different types of generators.
Innovation, research and development
According to BYD Brazil Director of Sustainability, Adalberto Maluf, the company is the largest investor in research and development in Brazil’s energy storage sector. “BYD has invested in the creation of the largest and best equipped R&D laboratory for new PV solar generation technologies in Latin America. By the end of 2019, the laboratory will be finalized and then donated to UNICAMP to become a reference for research and innovation in Brazil”.