Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Economic overview of the use and production of photovoltaic solar energy in brazil Agmar Ferreira a, ⁎ , Sheila S. Kunh a , Kátia C. Fagnani a , Tiago A. De Souza b , Camila Tonezer c , Geocris Rodrigues Dos Santos d , Carlos H. Coimbra-Araújo c,e a Master of Science Programme in Technologies of Agrobusiness Bioproducts (PGT/UFPR) Universidade Federal do Paraná, R. Pioneiro, 2153, 85950-000 Palotina, Brazil b Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Rio Pioneiro, 2153, 85.950-000 Palotina, Brazil c Department of Engineering and Exact Sciences, Universidade Federal do Paraná, R. Pioneiro, 2153, 85950-000 Palotina, Brazil d Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Via do Conhecimento, km 1, 85503-390 Pato Branco, Brazil e Doctor of Science Programme in Environment and Development (PPGMADE/UFPR), Universidade Federal do Paraná, R. dos Funcionários, 1540, 80035- 050 Curitiba, Brazil ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Photovoltaic energy Cost Renewable energy Complementary energy ABSTRACT The technology of photovoltaic power generation has been increasingly regarded in many countries as an alternative to reduce the environmental impacts associated with climate changes and dependence on fossil fuels. Countries such as Germany and other European countries have been developed specific regulatory mechanisms to encourage its use either by government programs or by financial and/or tax incentives. In Brazil, despite the large existing solar potential, the encouragement to technology is still incipient. This paper aims to demonstrate the key aspects of the evolution of regulatory incentives to use photovoltaic solar energy in Brazil and present the technologies and characteristics of photovoltaic power generation. 1. Introduction The increase of the demand and consumption of energy resulting from technological progress and from advancement in human devel- opment are seen as the most important factors in the acceleration of climate and environmental changes observed and described by the scientific community. Recent studies have shown an upward trend in energy demand as a result of economic recovery in developing countries. The current growth trend suggests that probably in the second decade of this century, energy consumption in developed countries will be exceeded by consumption in developing countries due to the improvement of socio-economic parameters in these countries [1,2]. According to data from the International Energy Agency and Key World Energy Statistics [3], Brazil, Russia, India and China account for 32% of world energy demand. Among them, the highlight is China with 2417 million toe (tons of oil equivalent), which corresponds to 19% of the world energy demand. Russia comes next with 701 million toe (6% of world demand), after India with 692 million toe (5%) and finally Brazil with 265 million toe (2%). About this, see also [4–13]. Although China presents the greatest world's energy demand, its per capita consumption (1.81 toe/person) is below the world average (1.86 toe/person). Similarly, India, even reaching 5% of world demand, has a low per capita consumption (0.59 toe/person). On the other hand, Russia presents a per capita energy consumption (4.95 toe/ inhabitant) of developed country. Brazilian consumption (1.36 toe/ inhabitant) is in an intermediate position among the BRICs, down slightly from Chinese consumption. Petroleum is the major commodity in the Brazilian energy matrix, representing about 60% of the total consumption energy sources, used mainly to provide much of the energy demand in the transport sector. It is also important to denote that about 40% of the energy comes from sugarcane bagasse and traditional biomass, as shown in Fig. 1. Currently hydropower is the main source of energy for electricity generation in Brazil, accounting for 62.44% of production, as shown in Fig. 2. Hydropower is considered renewable and clean, however its application is restricted due to the environmental impacts caused by the flooding of large areas, by the emission of methane (CH 4 ) resulting from the anaerobic degradation of organic material submerged by flooding, and due to hydrological dependence of the region to be implemented [16]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.102 Received 28 April 2016; Received in revised form 19 February 2017; Accepted 23 June 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: agmarferreira79@gmail.com (A. Ferreira). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 81 (2018) 181–191 1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. MARK