Brazil imported 5.48 GW of solar modules in the first half of 2026, down 48% from 10.57 GW a year earlier, according to clean energy consultancy Greener, reflecting a sharp slowdown in demand for photovoltaic equipment, particularly from utility-scale projects.

Imports declined year on year in nearly every month in the first half, falling 71.6% in March and 60.7% in April, with May the only exception at 6.5% growth. Monthly volumes dropped from 2.33 GW to 1.12 GW in January and from 2.03 GW to 576.7 MW in March.

The contraction was most severe in centralized generation, where module imports fell 82% to 430 MW from 2.3 GW. Greener market intelligence head Luiza Bertazzoli said curtailment is the dominant factor, reducing projected revenue and increasing perceived investment risk.

She said the supply-demand imbalance is also linked to the large number of project authorizations granted during the rush to meet tariff-discount deadlines in recent years.

Distributed generation imports fell 39% year on year to about 5 GW, though its share of total imports rose to 92% from 78%. Greener attributed the slowdown to market maturity, high interest rates, declining use of sales financing and grid-connection constraints.

The decline in volumes coincided with higher equipment prices. The weighted average free-on-board module price rose 12.9% to $0.09/W from $0.08/W, with the increase concentrated in the second quarter and peaking at $0.1/W in May. Greener attributed the rise to China's phaseout of a 9% export incentive from April, which pushed up equipment costs internationally.

Bertazzoli said manufacturers are expected to pass on only a limited portion of the increase in the second half, as excess Chinese production capacity pressures margins. Polysilicon prices began rising slightly in August after China introduced a policy to curb overproduction, which could add further upward pressure on module prices.