Brazil’s development bank approved a 26 million-real ($9.6 million) loan for a solar-panel factory.

Pure Energy, a unit of the Brazilian builder Cerutti Engenharia, will use the funds for a plant in the northeastern state of Alagoas, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico & Social said in an e-mailed statement today.

Brazil gets less than 1 percent of its electricity from solar and more than 70 percent from hydroelectric plants. The country is seeking to promote wider use of photovoltaic systems as part of an effort to diversify its energy supplies.

The loan will cover about 75 percent of the total investment in the factory and is BNDES’ first loan for a solar-panel plant, according to the statement.

Pure Energy is also planning a 1-megawatt solar farm to power the facility.

BNDES didn’t say how many panels the factory will be able to produce and Pure Energy didn’t immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.