Brazil launches USD 961m credit line for DG solar projects

Brazil's Ministry of National Integration announced on Wednesday the creation of a BRL-3.2-billion (USD 960.9m/EUR 782.4m) credit line for the finance of distributed and centralized solar power generation projects in urban and rural areas.

The resources will be provided via the portfolio of the constitutional financing funds of the North (FNO), Northeast (FNE) and Midwest (FCO) and may be used by individuals and legal entities.

With the new measure, it will be possible to finance all the equipment and services necessary to make the projects viable for the consumers. The government expects that at least 10,000 systems will be installed this year.

In both the North and Northeast regions, the annual interest will be 6.24%. However, the North will have a repayment period of up to 36 months with up to two grace periods while the Norheast will have a 12-year maximum repayment term with four grace periods. For the Midwest, interest is set at 7.33% per year, with a 2-year repayment term and six months of grace period.

Finance is the biggest bottleneck for more than 75% of the companies in the country's photovoltaic (PV) sector, according to the National Solar Association (Absolar). Brazil currently has 24,565 mini or micro distributed generation systems, of which 99% are solar, the ministry noted.

(BRL 1 = USD 0.30/EUR 0.24)

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