INÍCIOS DE UMA TRANSIÇÃO SOCIOTÉCNICA: O CLUSTER DE ENERGIA FOTOVOLTAICA NA REGIÃO DOS VALES/RS

Abstract

Promotion of decentralized energy generation from renewable sources gained prominence after the Paris Agreement on climate. The concept of energy cluster has found increasing use in the media and by market organizations. The objective of this article is to systematize data about the expansion of solar microgeneration in the Region of Vales in Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. It discusses the hypothesis that a cluster of energy from renewable sources is being formed, a radical innovation in face of the centralizing paradigm of the electrical matrix. Since 2014, a diverse set of social actors has established the municipality of Santa Cruz do Sul as a center for the diffusion of photovoltaic systems in the region. Based on technical visits, interviews with managers and a review of the incipient bibliography, the article emphasizes the territorial rooting of this beginning of an energy transition, which contributes to the modernization of the regional infrastructure towards greater sustainability. Among the results, we highlight the absence of state public policies, which prioritize coal in Rio Grande do Sul.