The smarter E South America event kicks off this Tuesday, August 25th, in São Paulo, featuring a Brazilian market with over 74 GW of installed solar power that now prioritizes energy storage. Energía Estratégica will be present at the Expo Center Norte to cover the latest developments, investments, and strategies of the sector's key players throughout the three-day event.
The event will run until Thursday, August 27, and will bring together more than 680 companies , including Intersolar South America, ees South America, Power2Drive South America, and Eletrotec+EM-Power South America. Photovoltaics, batteries, electrical grids, and electromobility will converge at one of the leading gatherings for the Latin American energy industry.
The fair begins in a renewable market that already has 74,318 MW of photovoltaic solar capacity in operation , equivalent to 27.4% of an electricity matrix of 270,813 MW , according to the latest ABSOLAR report, updated to July 20, 2026.
Of that total, 51,693 MW correspond to distributed micro and mini-generation , while another 22,625 MW belong to centralized generation . The penetration achieved by this technology places photovoltaics as the second largest energy source in Brazil in terms of installed capacity, behind hydroelectric power.
This growth also has a strong economic dimension. Since 2012, solar energy has mobilized over R$328.2 billion in new investments , generated more than 2.2 million jobs , and contributed over R$103.2 billion in tax revenue . Furthermore, it has prevented the emission of more than 122.6 million tons of CO₂ .
Distributed generation accounts for a significant portion of this expansion. Brazil has 4,716,423 solar systems connected to the grid , reaching more than 8.2 million consumer units through energy compensation mechanisms.
However, the size the industry has reached marks a new stage. Curtailment, transmission, flexibility, and storage are gaining ground in the discussion , in a system that will have to manage increasingly larger volumes of variable renewable generation.
Solar production itself demonstrates this leap in scale. In December 2025, photovoltaics accounted for 15.23% of all electricity supplied in Brazil and reached a peak hourly output of 42,552 MW , equivalent to 48.37% of the national demand recorded at that time.
BESS takes center stage: Brazil registers almost 297 GW for storage auctions
Energy storage will be a major focus of Brazil's energy agenda in the coming months. The Energy Research Company (EPE) has registered 6,091 BESS projects, totaling 296,807 MW of capacity, interested in participating in the 2026 capacity reserve auctions —a record number for the country's competitive bidding processes in the electricity sector.
Brazil is preparing two specific processes for December: LRCAP 2026 – National Storage and LRCAP 2026 – Storage , aimed at contracting power from new battery storage systems. The official objective is to strengthen the security and reliability of the National Interconnected System and provide greater operational flexibility.
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The planned schedule includes a first round on December 2nd, with minimum national content requirements , and a second round on December 4th, without that requirement , based on the market outlook for this coverage. The projects considered must exceed 30 MW and have four hours of storage capacity.
The surge in energy storage is directly linked to another major challenge facing the system: the need to integrate an ever-increasing volume of renewable generation and mitigate the effects of curtailment . According to industry associations, generation cuts reached approximately 20% in 2025, with over $640 million in compensation , a scenario that spurred new regulatory and operational discussions.
Therefore, energy storage will have a cross-cutting presence at The smarter E South America. Battery manufacturers, inverters, integrators, developers, and power electronics suppliers will arrive in São Paulo at a time when Brazil is beginning to define the rules of one of the BESS markets with the largest pipeline in the region.
The smarter E brings together the main players in the market
In that context, The smarter E South America will officially open this Tuesday, August 25th at Expo Center Norte, São Paulo , with an agenda focused on solar, storage, electromobility and the evolution of the electric system.
During the opening, Bárbara Rubim, president of the Board of Directors of ABSOLAR, and Florian Wessendorf, CEO of Solar Promotion International GmbH , will present an overview of the photovoltaic industry in Brazil and the world.
The day will also include a debate with Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of ABSOLAR; Markus Vlasits, president of ABSAE; Rafael Cunha, COO of movE Eletromobilidade; and João Cunha, CEO of Instituto Mi Omega , before the press conference of the presidents of the four events that make up The smarter E South America.
In addition, there will be a strong business presence at the fair. Among the companies expected to be present are GCL System Integration, Solis, Sigenergy, Suntech, LONGi, Jinko Solar, JA Solar, GoodWe Technologies, Astronergy , Tongwei, Haitai Solar, Helius Sunlink Fotovoltaica, Sunlink, Kinematics Suntrack, Enertrack, Soltec, and PowerChina Jiangxi Electric Power , among others.
Also present will be players linked to storage, inverters, power electronics and infrastructure such as SolaX, Sungrow, GoodWe, TBEA, AlphaESS, Growatt, FlexGen, Hopewind, APsystems and Hitachi Energy .
The variety of manufacturers, developers, technology providers, integrators, and associations will allow the fair to function as a snapshot of the current situation in Brazil , with a large-scale solar industry and a market that is increasingly looking towards batteries, flexibility, and grid modernization.
Following The smarter E South America, which will take place from August 25 to 27, 2026 at Expo Center Norte, São Paulo , the regional agenda will continue with Intersolar Mexico, from September 1 to 3 at the Citibanamex Center in Mexico City .
Together, the two events are expected to attract approximately 950 exhibitors and over 65,000 visitors , bringing together manufacturers, developers, utilities, integrators, investors, and authorities involved in solar energy, storage, and the technologies supporting the energy transition. This information was confirmed by the organizers of The Smarter E South America and Intersolar Mexico in an interview with the website.
Energía Estratégica will closely follow both events , first from São Paulo and later from Mexico City, to report on the announcements, investment opportunities and regulatory discussions that will shape the course of two of the most important energy markets in Latin America.