Researchers have calculated the solar energy potential of each state in Brazil. The study shows that the nation has the potential to install 337.83 GW of solar energy. The state of Bahia leads with 43.97 GW, followed by Minas Gerais with 41.84 GW and Mato Grosso with 39.73 GW.
Brazilian, Colombian and German researchers have created a database of solar electricity production potential in each state of Brazil, using 2019 as a reference year for solar radiation. The researchers aim to take advantage of Brazil’s existing energy data – including the national electricity regulator’s Siga database and data from the Energy Research Office (EPE) – and make it more accessible to the international community.
“By providing the first publicly available, spatially clear, harmonized, English-language version of Brazil’s energy data, we allow researchers to replicate Brazil’s energy system and/or improve integration into global energy models from a common ground,” the researchers say. said.
To calculate the solar energy production potential of each state, the task force used the Energy Data Analysis Tool (EnDAT), which until now had only been available internally at the German Aerospace Center.
The model uses two maps to calculate solar energy production potential – one that identifies excluded areas and one that serves as a suitability criterion to determine the available area. The maximum installation density is calculated by taking into account the maximum shading effect in modules whose angle is optimized for the winter solstice. Potentials were defined for solar installations on roofs, facades, other open urban areas and areas suitable for large-scale ground installations.
In total, Brazil has the potential to install 337.83 GW of solar energy, according to the study. All results for Brazil’s 27 states are as follows:
- Bahia (BA): 43.97 GW
- Minas Gerais (MG): 41.84 GW
- Mato Grosso (MT): 39.73 GW
- Goiás (GO): 24.40 GW
- Power (PA): 21.28 GW
- Mato Grosso do Sul (MS): 19.62 GW
- Piauà (PI): 17.05 GW
- Maranhão (MA): 16.46 GW
- Tocantins (TO): 14.76 GW
- Rio Grande do Sul (RS): 13.28 GW
- São Paulo (SP): 12.42 GW
- Ceará (CE): 11.94 GW
- Pernambuco (PE): 9.37 GW
- Rondônia (RO): 8.66 GW
- Paraná (PR): 8.28 GW
- Roraima (RR): 6.72 GW
- ParaÃba (PB): 5.63 GW
- Rio Grande do Norte (RN): 4.44 GW
- EspÃrito Santo (ES): 3.08 GW
- Santa Catarina (SC): 2.93 GW
- Amazonas (AM): 2.91 GW
- Alagoas (AL): 2.54 GW
- Rio de Janeiro (RJ): 2.06 GW
- Sergipe (SE): 1.94 GW
- Acre (AC): 1.56 GW
- Amapá (AP): 0.99 GW
- BrasÃlia (DF), the capital of Brazil: 0.27 MW
The researchers described their model in “Harmonized and Open Energy Dataset for Modeling a Highly Renewable Brazilian Power System,” published recently Scientific information. A dataset of potential installed capacity and other information is available here.
