Understand how solar photovoltaic energy works

How does it work?

For every application, a special solar PV solution

Small and medium-sized solar photovoltaic systems, with installed capacity up to 5 MW each, installed in places such as:

Households

Farms

Companies

Public buildings

Types of systems

When considering systems connected to the electricity grid (on-grid), DG has four main modalities:

I. On-Site (local) DG – A DG system is installed locally at the consumer unit and the generated electricity is used on the site itself.

II. Condominium with DG/EMUC (enterprises from multiple consumer units) – The generated electricity is distributed among the condominium members locally, in percentages defined by the consumers themselves and it can also be used to supply the common areas of the building.

III. Remote Self-Consumption (Virtual Net-Metering) – Allows the consumer to install a microgenerator or minigenerator at a site different from the one where they are and use the generated electricity credits to compensate their consumption and reduce their electricity bill (as long as the solar PV system and the consumer are both served by the same local utility).

IV. Shared Generation (Community Solar) – Several interested parties (people or companies) gather into a consortium or cooperative and invest in a shared solar PV distributed generation system. The electricity credits generated and injected into the grid by the system are proportionally divided amongst this group of consumers.

Solar PV DG: it doesn’t stop there!

Solar PV can also be applied in several other ways, such as:

I. Isolated or Remote Solar PV Systems (Off-Grid Solar PV): Systems that are not connected to the Brazilian electricity grid, the Sistema Interligado Nacional (SIN – National Interconnected System). As an essential support for isolated communities living in islands, forests, countryside and other remote locations, these systems improve the quality of life of this population. These are autonomous systems, independent from the electricity distribution grid, which usually operate with the support of batteries or other storage and hybrid systems.

II. Agricultural: These are systems oriented to farmers. They can be used in several activities in rural areas, such as water pumping and irrigation, for example.

III. Low-Income Housing:  solar PV systems especially designed to reduce costs for low-income families. Can be applied directly to small homes or to shared apartment blocks.

IV. Solar PV gadgets: powerbanks, notebooks, backpacks, umbrellas, camping tents, electric vehicles, toys and other small electric and electronic equipments can incorporate solar PV to recharge, power and support their operation.

Solar PV projects above 5 MW, such as large-sscale utility power plants are part of the Centralized Generation (CG) market segment. The electricity generated by CG can be commercialized in two different contracting environments: the Free Contracting Environment (ACL) and the Regulated Contracting Environment (ACR).

On ACL, generators, traders, free consumers and special consumers buy and sell electricity under open negotiation between buyers and sellers (bilateral contracts and power purchase agreements – PPAs), with the price agreed directly between the parties.

On ACR, generators take part in electricity auctions, wich guidelines established directly by the Brazilian Federal Government, by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), with contract details structured by Aneel and bidding procedure conducted by the Chamber of Electric Energy Commercialization (CCEE).