[2020-01-03] Chinese group BYD increases the production of solar panels in Brazil

Source: Macauhub

Chinese group BYD intends to significantly increase the production of solar panels in Brazil in 2020, in response to demand from the local market, said the director of marketing and sustainability of BYD in Brazil, Adalberto Maluf.

Since 2017 BYD has a photovoltaic equipment factory in Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, which competes with production at the Brazilian unit of Canadian Solar and with products imported from Chinese suppliers, such as Trina Solar, Jinko and JA Solar.

“From 1 February we will double the production we recorded in 2019,” said Maluf, speaking to the Reuters news agency, adding that this duplication will be achieved by adding another production shift.

BYD’s move is due to solar panels installed in Brazil is expected to achieve a stake of 35% in the domestic market this year, as compared to 20% in 2019.

Maluf added that higher-quality photovoltaic cells for solar panel production have fallen in price, along with the introduction of a resolution of the Chamber of Commerce (Camex) in Brazil, which on 31 December exempted solar cells from import taxes, also help in reducing costs.

BYD’s optimism about the Brazilian market comes at a time when the country’s power regulator Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (Anel) is discussing new rules for calls distributed generation (GD), a technology that has gained momentum in the country with the installation by consumers of photovoltaic panels on rooftops and large plots of land.