Brazil Sells Future Solar Power at Renewable Energy Auction

Brazil’s latest auction of future renewable electricity showed strong pent-up demand for solar power but left unclear whether the amount sold was sufficient to sustain the local equipment supply chain in the short term, an industry official said.

At the Dec. 18 auction, 574 megawatts (MW) of future solar power was sold for 143.3 reais ($43.58) per megawatt hour (MWh), about 55 percent below the government-set ceiling price, according to the Electric Energy Trading Chamber, the clearinghouse that handles the auction’s financial transactions. The auction is the only one offering solar power in Brazil this year.

The last such ...