Background
The Government of Brazil and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) have targeted a 6400 MW reduction in additional capacity through energy efficiency by the year of 2030. To achieve this target, various measures are proposed, including the use of solar hot water heating (SWH) to replace the typical electric shower heaters present in nearly every household in Brazil.
The SWH sector has been growing steadily since the Brazilian energy crisis in 2001, but the growth is modest to create market transformations considering the country solar potential. There is a national plan to construct about 1.000,000 new houses for low-income population over the coming years, and this is an opportunity to be creative with incentives in order to accelerate the SWH market.
At the same time, many major Brazilian cities like São Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre have already approved or are in the process of adopting SWH laws. Implementing these laws will require the coordinated efforts of many stakeholders.