Intersolar South America, the largest solar exhibition in Brazil and the South American edition of the world's leading exhibition series for the solar industry, returns to Sao Paulo for the third straight year. This year's event will feature a bustling exhibition floor, where visitors can view the latest solar technologies, and the parallel conference program that will feature unique insights into the core topics of PV production technologies, energy storage and solar thermal technologies from market leaders. Intersolar South America will be held at Sao Paulo's Expo Center Norte from September 1 to 3, 2015.
Intersolar South America offers all solar professionals an ideal platform for networking and gathering information on the latest market developments, effective manufacturing strategies as well as financing and project development. Attendees will see the latest technologies from around 100 exhibitors. The conference will feature 70 high-level speakers and attract more than 500 attendees. Conference attendees can choose between a three-day photovoltaic package or a two-day solar thermal package, organized in partnership with ABRAVA DASOL/CB-SOL. Additionally, two workshops will be offered for industry newcomers to learn the fundamentals of solar—one workshop is focused on photovoltaics, the other on solar thermal.
"All signs point toward an incredible opportunity for solar energy to become a huge part of Brazil's energy generation portfolio, and for Brazil—and South America as a whole—to become a leading solar market," said Markus Elsasser, CEO of Solar Promotion International, one of the organizers. "Intersolar South America offers an opportunity for business professionals to take a closer look at the technologies and trends driving the market, and forge critical business connections that will take the industry into its next phase of growth."
An additional 2.2 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity will be added in Latin America in 2015, according to GTM Research, due to a rise in profitability, increased access to capital and favorable government policies. In Brazil, the government announced plans to add 3.5 GW of PV systems and 17 GW of wind energy to the country's energy supply by 2023. Industry experts expect nearly 1 GW of capacity will be connected to the grid by October 2017.
Auctions for large-scale PV plants and net metering for smaller solar power installations have laid the foundation for rapid growth in Brazil. The Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (Agencia Nacional de Energia Eletrica, or ANEEL) is now hosting auctions to determine construction of new power plants. Power purchase agreements are also be bought and sold at these auctions. The next auction, set for August 2015, will sell PV capacities. Loans granted by the Brazilian Development Bank and private banks have also made it easier to finance projects, as solar financing remains a major barrier for PV project developers.
In May, ANEEL announced it revised its net metering capacity in order to expand the number of roof-mounted PV installations. It increased its target from 1.4 GW by 2022 to around 2.7 GW and 700,000 solar power systems installed by 2024. Overall, Brazil is implementing a number of market development measures for private, commercial and industrial PV plants. Opportunity abounds for companies to become strategically involved in one of the most interesting growth markets in Latin America.
Registration and additional information is available online.