Brazil and Mexico will be participating in the next editions of The smarter E South America and Intersolar. with a common sign: the regional race is no longer explained solely by adding solar MW .
The two most closely watched markets in Latin America are entering a phase where the central question is changing. Simply installing capacity is no longer enough; now the key difference lies in how to integrate, store, manage, and convert it into usable energy for increasingly demanding grids and industries .
The contrast is stark. Brazil is facing the consequences of its own renewable energy success : grid congestion, curtailment, and pressure to accelerate battery storage and hybridization. In 2025, the country failed to utilize nearly 20% of its available solar and wind power generation due to system limitations, with estimated losses of 6.5 billion reais, according to data published by Energia Estratégica.
Mexico, on the other hand, is moving forward with a different approach. Its impetus comes from industrial demand, nearshoring, data centers, self-consumption, and new calls for bids for generation projects with public-private participation . The Ministry of Energy is seeking to award 4,595 MW of solar and concentrated solar power (CSP) and 2,159 MW of wind power in processes that include mandatory energy storage.
This dual movement will permeate the agenda of The smarter E South America and Intersolar Mexico , which will be held from August 25-27, 2026 at the Expo Center Norte in São Paulo and from September 1-3 at the Citibanamex Center in Mexico City, respectively.
"The biggest change is that the conversation has shifted from focusing on installing more solar capacity to focusing on building smarter and more integrated energy systems," the organization told Energía Estratégica .
“We also expect a robust debate on how to accelerate project development and strengthen investments, despite regulatory and grid infrastructure challenges. Overall, both events will showcase the transition to smarter, more integrated, and more resilient energy systems,” they added.
This paradigm shift will be the focus of the upcoming editions of The Smarter E South America and Intersolar Mexico. Together, these two events will bring together approximately 950 exhibitors and more than 65,000 visitors, solidifying their position as the leading meeting points for the solar industry, energy storage, digitalization, and the technologies driving the energy transition in Latin America.
"These figures clearly demonstrate the growing importance of both markets and the industry's strong commitment to accelerating the energy transition in the region," the organization emphasized.
Brazil: from the renewable boom to the challenges of a more complex system
Just a few years ago, the challenge for the Brazilian market was incorporating new renewable capacity; today, the focus is on ensuring that this electricity can be fully utilized . The strong growth in solar and wind power generation has begun to put pressure on the transmission and distribution infrastructure, leading to increasing episodes of grid congestion and curtailment.
In 2025 alone, Brazil failed to utilize nearly 20% of its available solar and wind power generation , a situation that resulted in estimated losses of 6.5 billion reais and accelerated the debate on new tools to bring flexibility to the electricity system.
"In Brazil, solar energy continues to expand rapidly, but grid congestion and curtailment are becoming key challenges. This is accelerating the need to incorporate energy storage and hybrid projects to improve system flexibility and reduce losses," the organization explains.
In this context, energy storage has ceased to be a complementary technology and has become a strategic component of the Brazilian electricity system. Proof of this is that the government finally moved forward with the country's first battery auction, after more than a year of postponements.
The process was divided into two stages: a tender for projects lasting up to four hours, scheduled for November 28 , and a second call for eight-hour solutions, scheduled for December 5. The goal is to add flexibility to the grid, reduce the effects of curtailment, and support an electricity mix with an increasing share of renewable sources.
Mexico: the energy transition driven by industry
The Mexican scenario is different. Mexico is focusing its efforts on meeting a growing electricity demand driven by industrial expansion.
The phenomenon of nearshoring , the arrival of new manufacturing investments, and the growth of sectors such as data centers are changing the country's energy consumption profile. Various industry estimates indicate that these developments alone could require more than 1,500 MW of new electrical capacity over the next few years.
Added to this is the dynamism of distributed generation, which incorporated nearly 1 GW of new capacity during 2025 , and the boost from new generation calls promoted by the Ministry of Energy, which seek to award more than 6 GW this year among solar, solar thermal and wind projects, many of them with associated storage.
"Mexico's momentum is much more linked to industrial demand, investments in supply chains and the growing need for clean, reliable and competitive energy," Intersolar maintains.
“We have observed a clear increase in demand from companies interested in participating as exhibitors at Intersolar Mexico in recent years. We are also seeing greater diversity among exhibitors, with a growing interest in energy storage, hybrid systems, and solutions for the commercial and industrial segment, in addition to traditional solar technologies,” they analyzed.
An agenda that no longer belongs solely to the solar industry
The shift in Brazil and Mexico also reflects a broader change in the region. The smarter E and Intersolar are no longer seen solely as spaces for solar manufacturers and EPC companies, but as meeting points for the entire clean energy value chain.
The organization notes a growing participation of storage providers, project developers, utilities, investors, large industrial consumers, and companies linked to energy digitalization .
Within this context, one of the central focuses will be the utility-scale segment of solar energy and storage, where developers are beginning to optimize large portfolios through advanced forecasting and flexible dispatch strategies. The commercial and industrial segment will also maintain a leading role, especially in solar solutions with behind-the-meter storage.
This will be complemented by interest in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, especially when integrated with distributed generation and storage, as well as digitalization technologies such as energy management based on artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance and smart grids.
"The profile of both exhibitors and visitors has become much more diverse in recent years," Intersolar representatives point out. Following this logic, one of the objectives of the upcoming editions will be to strengthen Intersolar's role as a regional platform for integrated energy solutions , bringing together solar energy, storage, grid technologies, and digitalization in a single space.
The organization will also seek to deepen the participation of segments such as hybrid plants, green hydrogen, electric vehicle infrastructure and commercial and industrial decarbonization , as well as expand its international presence and connect developers, utilities, policymakers and financial institutions so that innovation translates into concrete projects.