Solar energy growth helps reduce costs in agribusiness

At the Heinen farm, located in Linha Arroio Bonito, in the municipality of Mato Leitão (RS), 160 photovoltaic solar panels have helped reduce the electricity bill since they were installed at the end of 2021.

The increase in inputs for cattle raising, the water crisis, the rise in fuel prices, among other economic factors, affected producers in the dairy chain. The result was that, in 2022, a liter of milk was sold for almost R$ 8 in various parts of the country.

Despite this scenario, producer Evandoir Heinen saw his electricity costs decrease thanks to the photovoltaic system.

“The bill exceeded R$5,800. It was unfeasible. That’s when we installed the boards and we’ve already seen results. In the first month, I paid just over R$1,000, in addition to providing the equipment.”

Heinen is one of the thousands of producers who, with the incentive of lines of credit, have joined the renewable source.

Data from Absolar (Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy) point out that there was a 115% increase in the number of systems installed in fields in Brazil between the first six months of 2021 and the same period of 2022 —44 thousand systems last year and 94 .6 thousand on this one. In the rural area of ​​Rio Grande do Sul, the increase was greater, 135%.

Technology also impacts the number of jobs generated by the sector. According to Absolar, between 2020 and October 2022, there was a 180% increase in jobs related to solar energy. With regard to the collection of taxes to the country’s public coffers, the increase, in the same period, was 187%.

Proud, Heinen shows reports that point out not only the savings that the panels generate but also the benefits to the environment. Since the installation, in December 2021, the economy has been R$ 43,169.84. 12 tons of carbon dioxide were stopped producing and 18 trees were saved.

To adhere to solar energy, the producer took out a ten-year loan from the Sicredi cooperative. “The first installment I paid BRL 3,400, and the last installment I will pay BRL 1,700.”

Heinen was reluctant to even accept a proposal to install the modules because he didn’t know the system very well. Today, he realizes he made a good choice. “I’m very pleased. I even added an air conditioner to one room.”

For the vice-president of Absolar, Bárbara Rubim, the growth of solar energy in agribusiness can be attributed to three factors. “The first is the increase in the electricity bill in all segments. We had the water scarcity tariff flag which, despite not being in force today, was a great motivator.”

The second is the fact that rural consumers have historically had access to a series of tariff reductions that are now coming to an end. “Finally, it also influences the emergence of several lines of financing specifically aimed at this public.”

It can be said that the marriage between the field and solar energy, called “agro photovoltaic”, is here to stay.

“It is about the integration of photovoltaic modules with some crops, since certain species, such as strawberries, benefit from the shading that can be caused by the solar system when installed in the ground”, says Rubim.

In addition, the rural producer usually has available area, either on the ground or on the roof of the sheds.

“All this makes solar energy an ally, helping to reduce the fixed cost and, consequently, making food production cheaper”, he says. Absolar projects, for the coming years, an even greater growth of adherence in rural areas.

Solled Energia, from Santa Cruz do Sul (RS), was one of the pioneers of photovoltaic solar energy in the state. The company’s CEO, Mara Schwengber, remembers the first steps of the business, in 2011, when there was still no regulation, which would only arrive a year later.

“We participated in the regulation construction process and were one of the first connected plants in Rio Grande do Sul and Brazil. The market boomed in 2017 and has been doubling the number of connections and installed power every year.”

According to the CEO, European countries, which were already using the technology, were observed at the beginning. “We decided to invest in something that wasn’t happening until then.”

Currently, Solled has more than 3,000 installations, mostly in Southern states. Directly, the company generates around 150 jobs. However, it is difficult to get skilled labor.

“We look for people who are interested in working in the sector and we train them. There is a shortage of manpower and the tendency is to have even more, due to the growth of the market.”