Storing to Resist: The New Wave of Distributed Energy Generation in Brazil

In recent years, solar energy has ceased to be a technological curiosity and has become part of everyday life for Brazilians. Today, there are already millions of small distributed generation units spread across the rooftops of homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, rural properties, and public buildings. This revolution has transformed the consumer into a prosumer a term that combines “producer” and “consumer” someone who not only consumes energy but also produces it.

Storing to Resist: The New Wave of Distributed Energy Generation in Brazil

What many people don’t realize is that, by installing solar panels on their homes or businesses, they are providing a strategic service to the country. They are helping to diversify the electricity mix, reduce dependence on large power plants, and, most importantly, increase the resilience of the system in the face of the increasingly frequent impacts of extreme weather events.

When climate challenges energy

Brazil has long relied on the strength of its rivers to generate electricity. But prolonged droughts can dry up reservoirs and compromise hydropower generation. Storms with strong winds knock down transmission lines and destroy substations. Lightning, extreme heat, and hail also damage equipment and undermine grid stability.

Generating energy in large power plants often hundreds of kilometers away from where it is consumed means relying on extensive transmission networks. The greater the distance, the higher the risk of widespread blackouts. In a climate change scenario, this vulnerability becomes clear.

This is where distributed energy resources come into play small generation units close to consumption, such as rooftop solar panels, small-scale wind turbines, or local biomass systems. They reduce reliance on large power plants and make the system more flexible.

The central role of energy storage

If distributed generation is already a reality, the next step is energy storage. In simple terms, it means saving the electricity produced for later use. This can be done with batteries installed at the point of consumption.

Imagine a home with solar panels on the roof. During the day, the energy generated can be used immediately to power refrigerators, air conditioners, and electric showers. Any surplus can be directed to batteries, which store this energy for use at night or during peak demand periods.

For this to work, a hybrid inverter must be installed. This device is the brain of the system: it decides whether the energy comes from the grid, the batteries, or directly from the solar panels. Combined with smart meters, the inverter can use artificial intelligence to optimize energy flows—deciding whether energy goes to household appliances, storage, or back to the grid as surplus.

The regulatory challenge

Today, Brazil’s National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) requires prosumers to pay a “grid fee” for using the distribution network. In other words, when someone injects surplus energy into the grid, they are not paid for it. And when they draw that energy back, they must pay for the distributor’s service.

The Legal Framework for Distributed Micro and Mini Generation (Law 14,300) establishes that, from 2029 onward, prosumers will also have to pay tariff charges—additional costs that fund public policies in the electricity sector, such as social programs or grid maintenance.

At first glance, it may seem unfair that those who generate their own energy must pay for the grid. But paradoxically, this rule could accelerate the energy storage market. After all, if prosumers have batteries at home, they can consume their own energy without relying on the grid, reducing costs and increasing autonomy.

The new wave: generate and store

We are facing a new wave of distributed energy generation: generating is no longer enough it is essential to store energy. This combination will bring greater resilience to Brazil’s electricity system and open the door to technologies already well established in other countries.

For this to happen, however, the public distribution grid must be modernized. Today, much of Brazil’s electrical infrastructure still reflects designs from the 1950s. It’s like trying to drive a modern car on a dirt road it may move forward, but it won’t reach its full potential.

Distributed energy resources are the modern cars. They require a technological highway, with smart sensors, automation devices, artificial intelligence, and even quantum technologies to ensure fluidity and security. Without this modernization, the system will remain limited, unable to fully absorb the benefits of distributed generation and storage.

The role of professionals and training

For this transformation to occur, it’s not enough to wait for public policies or technological breakthroughs. It is essential that industry professionals understand their role as disseminators and multipliers of this new reality.

There are countless training courses focused on the installation of solar systems, hybrid inverters, and batteries. Technical education is crucial to ensure that consumers have access to safe, efficient, and economically viable solutions.

Rather than searching for culprits for the sector’s challenges, we must find pathways forward—pathways that enable the expansion of the energy storage market, with positive impacts for everyone: a modern, more resilient electricity grid, lower costs, and greater security.

A decisive moment

Brazil is living through a decisive moment. Solar energy has already conquered millions of rooftops and transformed consumers into protagonists of the energy transition. Now, storage emerges as the missing piece to consolidate and expand this revolution.

Generating and storing energy is more than a trend it is a necessity in the face of climate change and the vulnerability of the traditional electricity system. It is up to professionals, institutions, and society to embrace this new wave, ensuring that the country advances toward a more modern, resilient, and sustainable energy matrix.

The future of energy is not only in large power plants, but in small systems spread throughout the territory. And with storage, every home, school, or business can become not just a consumer, but a guardian of the energy that powers Brazil.

By Renato Zimmermann is a sustainable business developer and an activist for the energy transition.

Storing to Resist: The New Wave of Distributed Energy Generation in Brazil