Brazil puts the brakes on renewables: over 500 solar and wind permits cancelled

Brazil’s electricity regulator, Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL), cancelled 509 permits for solar PV and wind power projects during 2025, representing approximately 22 gigawatts (GW) of planned capacity.

Most of these cancellations were initiated by the developers themselves, who opted to withdraw projects after determining they were no longer technically or financially viable in the current market environment.

What is driving the slowdown? A large portion of the cancelled projects—348 in total—were affected by a recent regulatory framework that allowed developers to voluntarily relinquish generation permits without penalties.

This mechanism applied to projects that:

• Had previously received extensions to qualify for discounted grid usage tariffs, and
• Had not yet signed grid connection agreements.

The policy window to request cancellation closed in late December 2025, prompting many developers to make a final decision on whether to move forward or exit.

Billions in guarantees involved

Regulatory data shows the financial scale of the adjustment:

• 158 projects formally requested cancellation within the allowed timeframe, involving about BRL 1.04 billion in project guarantees.
• 190 solar and wind projects did not submit cancellation requests on time, with guarantees totaling approximately BRL 1.41 billion.

Taken together, the figures point to a significant clean-up of Brazil’s renewable energy pipeline, as the market moves away from speculative or early-stage developments.

From rapid growth to disciplined expansion

Brazil has been one of the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy markets, particularly in utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind. However, the cancellation of nearly 22 GW of projects in a single year signals a shift toward a more disciplined growth model.

The sector is now increasingly shaped by:

• Transmission capacity limitations, especially in renewable-rich regions,
• Evolving regulatory requirements, and
• More stringent standards for bankability and execution readiness.

Despite the short-term contraction, Brazil’s renewable energy expansion is expected to continue—albeit in a more structured and selective manner.

Future growth is likely to be better aligned with:

• Available grid infrastructure,
• More robust power purchase agreements (PPAs) and commercialization models, and
• Greater integration of energy storage and hybrid renewable projects, combining solar, wind and batteries.

In this new phase, project quality and maturity are becoming more important than headline capacity volumes—marking a turning point for one of the most dynamic renewable markets in the Global South.