Economic impacts of the expansion in the use of residential solar energy in Minas Gerais

Abstract This article analyzes the economic impacts of the broadening of solar energy use by the mineiras families, through the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model named Imagem-MG. In this research, the distributive impacts of the use of renewable energy for self-consumption were analyzed, unlike previous studies that used this methodology to analyze energy issues. The set of 10 representative families was investigated, which made it possible to compare the consumption pattern changes between different yield classes. A technical and economic feasibility analysis was carried out to ascertain the conditions of the adoption of solar energy, throughout two different scenarios: the adoption of photovoltaic panels to the distributed generation of electricity and the adoption of water heating residential system. The results show that the adoption of photovoltaic panels causes sectorial impacts distinct from the adoption of solar heaters due to the composition of the families’ consumption by each technology.