SMA Solar Technology AG, a Germany-headquartered solar inverter manufacturer, says it is furthering its support of the Latin American market with a new subsidiary in Brazil.
SMA Brazil will conduct sales, project planning, service and technical training in the country, with the support of regional subsidiary SMA South America, located in Chile. It will offer SMA’s full product portfolio of residential-, commercial- and utility-scale solutions.
“SMA expects a strong growth in solar installations in Brazil in the coming years. With our new subsidiary in Itopeva/Sao Paulo, we will support our domestic and international customers to benefit from the market development,” says SMA CEO Pierre-Pascal Urbon.
According to SMA, Brazil is an attractive PV market because it offers federal energy contract auctions, net metering and tax exemptions on the consumed credits generated by net metering (in most states). Moreover, droughts in recent years have highlighted challenges with the country’s dependence on hydroelectric power, with millions of consumers affected by power outages and electricity rationing. Because of these factors, SMA says solar power is an attractive option that is expected to stimulate economic development and stabilize electricity prices.
“While SMA Brazil will focus on all PV market segments, the most relevant one currently – in terms of size and potential – is utility-scale,” explains Daniel Rosende, managing director of SMA South America. “It continues to attract international developers, which, in turn, helps develop the PV supply chain while spurring the growth of distributed generation in Brazil.”
