Why Brazil's floating solar power market is set to grow

Brazil’s floating solar plant market is expected to grow significantly, helped by legal certainty established as part of the distributed generation (DG) framework.

Almost 2.5GW of projects with access requests made to energy distributors already exist, Orestes Gonçalves, managing partner at F2B, a local company specializing in projects of this type, told BNamericas. Behind the projects are companies in the hydroelectric generation, mining, basic sanitation and agribusiness sectors, among others.

The DG framework was approved in 2022 and establishes that floating plants can be any size to sell energy, while conventional DG is limited to 5MW.

"The law was fundamental in increasing the attractiveness of floating solar plants, drawing the attention of investors and leading to a large gain in scale in the purchase of solar panels and floats," Gonçalves said.

He added that the projects target areas like reservoirs and dams, which simplifies the environmental licensing process. 

F2B was setting up Latin America's first floating solar power plant in an exhausted mining pit. Budgeted at 5mn reais (US$1mn), the 1MW plant (pictured) recently began operating at the AB Areias Group's mining unit in Roseira municipality, São Paulo state. The plant covers 8,000m2 and involves 1,852 solar panels.  

Inputs were manufactured in Brazil, using high-density resin with ultraviolet treatment and high-quality aluminum for a useful life of around 30 years.

F2B's floating solar technology was developed in partnership with Italy's NGR Island.  

The company has 4MW installed in Brazil and plans to deploy another 2MW this year, before moving on to large projects with output of 50-60MW.

F2B is now working on a floating solar project with a hydroelectric plant in Rio de Janeiro state, while negotiating a different venture with the owner of a disused landfill. 

"In this case, we're going to put water inside the float to create weight. With garbage underneath, there's no way of fixing the plant securely. It won't be a floating plant, as it will be on land," Gonçalves said.