Growth of distributed generation in the context of the hydropower crisis in the Southeast of Brazil: environmental and socioeconomic aspects

Abstract

Given the hydropower crisis in the Southeast region of Brazil in the years 2012-2015, the objective of this work is to analyze how consumers in the aforementioned region were led to implement Distributed Generation systems in that period. An exploratory data analysis was carried out regarding the level of reservoirs in the Southeast / Midwest sub-system, the consumption and cost of electricity in the region, and the evolution of Distributed Generation. This research made it possible to notice that, the water crisis increased the need for the use of thermal plants and, as a result, it increased the emissions of greenhouse gases, causing the cost of electricity to be high, especially for residential and commercial consumers in the Southeast. Thus, in order to reduce electricity costs, consumers invested in renewable energy sources. Among them, photovoltaic solar energy was the most used source of energy by all classes of consumers, mainly residential and commercial throughout the Southeast region.