Brazil Solar Energy Below Grid Electricity

According to Brazil’s national energy agency, Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica, electricity from home solar panels is now cheaper than electricity from 10 of the country’s electricity providers.

“Electricity from a typical 5 kilowatt system costs about 602 reais ($299) a megawatt-hour, EPE said today in a report,” Bloomberg reports. “Distributors charge 240 reais to 709 reais for residential power.”

And the price for solar panels is even lower with available government support! “Costs for solar energy fall to 586 reais a megawatt-hour if homeowners use a government credit program called Proesco to buy panels.”

Unfortunately, I can’t read the report, as it is in Portuguese. But I’m sure the assumption regarding lifespan of the solar panels underestimates their actual lifespan. 30 years should be the minimum lifespan used these days, but I’ve never seen anyone use even that many, and most seem to use 20 years. In other words, the cost of solar is probably even much cheaper than above in reality.

Good news for those going solar and for those looking to go solar in Brazil.

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Image Credit: brazil solar panels via EPE report