Brazil has reached a distributed energy generation capacity of 247.3 MW, according to the latest statistics released by the country’s regulator ANEEL.

Distributed solar PV currently accounts for the largest share, with 23,627 power generators, which account for 175.9 MW of total capacity. The remaining installed power comprises 10.2 MW of small wind power plants, 37.2 MW of mini hydroelectric plants, and 23.8 MW of combined-cycle power plants.

In mid-July, distributed solar had reached around 140 MW of installed power. This means that roughly 25 MW of new PV systems were connected to the grid over the past six months. In 2016, new additions totaled around 67.9 MW.

ANEEL said Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sur are the states with the largest number of installations. The first two, on the other hand, are the Brazilian states where most of the country’s economic activities are concentrated, and where power prices are among the highest.

The net metering legislation was issued by the Brazilian government in 2010. In 2016, the Ministry of Energy and Mines also introduced a package of measures to improve net metering conditions at a national level. The measures include, along with improved financial conditions for project loans, an increase of the size limit for projects under net metering to 5 MW.

Furthermore, the government is supporting distributed generation through Convention 16/15 (Convenio ICMS 16/2015), which exempts owners of solar power generators from paying ICMS, the Brazilian state sales tax, under net metering.

Aneel is aiming to reach a total of 886,723 PV systems under net metering by 2024.