Distributed solar generation is advancing and is already making inroads in the agribusiness sector of Goiás. There are already more than 31 thousand installed mini and micro photovoltaic plants, the majority, 77% of the residential type installed on rooftops of houses. However, the expansion of dedicated lines of credit for the rural sector and access facilities, have increasingly attracted the attention of the producers. By installing photovoltaic systems on their properties, they are achieving savings of up to 96% on the electricity bill and – once the investment is paid off – the amount that previously represented energy bill costs becomes additional profit for the property.

“There are already various examples of the use of photovoltaic solar energy at different rural properties be it for maintaining the air conditioning of storage silos, operating irrigation equipment or for chicken and hog farms”, explains Rodolfo de Sousa Pinto, president of Engie Geração Solar Distribuída, one of the leaders in the distributed solar micro-generation market with more than 2,000 installations operating in Brazil. “As well as having the advantage of being from a renewable source, photovoltaic solar energy provides savings on the electricity bill and is a demonstration that this technology has come to further boost the country’s agribusiness, expanding its profit margins”, he concludes.

A case in point is Fazenda São João, located in Rio Verde (GO) which since December 2017, has three mini photovoltaic plants installed by ENGIE to supply five production hubs, four for poultry and one for hogs. The investment was financed through the Constitutional Fund for Financing the Center-West (Fundo Constitucional de Financiamento do Centro-Oeste – FCO Rural), with a payback estimated at five years – but with excellent prospects for reducing this period depending on future tariff readjustments.

“The solar panels carry a guarantee of 25 years. Thus, once the financing is paid off, we shall have the property’s electricity practically free of charge, the concessionaire’s fees only being payable. This is the prospect for and the great advantage of the investment in proprietary generation, the possibility of having energy at a cost close to zero”, explains Silvio Paravisi, owner of the Fazenda which has a production capacity of about 2.5 million head of poultry and 13.5 thousand hogs annually.

With a power output of 278.25 kWp and a capacity to generate 431,250 kWh/year, Fazenda São João’s systems were dimensioned to satisfy the energy demand from the poultry farms, injecting the surplus in the system for use in the owner’s home. “We can say with total certainty that today 100% of the energy supply to the poultry farms is generated from the sun’s rays”, says Paravisi.