A solar power project implemented in a small community in the Brazilian Amazon has significantly changed the lives of the people there for the better, providing them not only with a stable energy source but also job opportunities too.
The small village of Santa Helena do Inglês, located in a Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS) on the banks of Brazil’s Rio Negro River, has been equipped with 132 solar panels, 54 lithium batteries to store the energy, and nine state-of-art hybrid inverters. The small power plant is located in the open air and although still in the pilot phase, it is now fully operational. The construction is part of the Semper Luz project which aims to provide solar energy to the riverside and remote indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest.
How has solar power plant changed Santa Helena do Ingles?
Santa Helena do Ingles is reachable only by boat. For many years it had only a sporadic energy supply and blackouts were frequent as power could only be received through wires that passed through the forest so any large storm or deterioration in the weather would cut off the supply leaving villagers with no light and the other basic facilities that electricity provides.
“The community is very far from the city and energy until then, came through the forest. And when there was any storm, the trees would fall and the community would be without energy. This greatly affected the school, which has classes at night, the church, and the community in which receives clients,” said the President of the community, Nelson Brito.
Electricity also supports tourism in the areas. One of the villagers, Osiana Rodrigues de Mendonça, owns an eco-lodge, a wooden villa where tourists can live close to nature. Despite the fact that electricity reached the community in 2012 as part of the “Luz para Todos” (Light for All) project, the village frequently suffered power cuts. Osiana admits that the problems with the energy supply deterred tourists.
“They left really angry and they never came back. It really hurt us, we lost income because of it. Because you need electricity for everything: to make juice, to bake a cake,” she argues.
Thanks to the solar panels that have been installed, the situation has changed and Osiana can now rely on a stable energy supply.
Once a center of illegal logging, Santa Helena do Ingles has transformed itself into a prosperous community which no longer has to cut down the forest to earn a living.
Solar energy can change the Amazon
As many communities in the Amazon live in remote locations, solar energy may be the only solution for them to gain access to a stable energy supply. Solar panels are also more eco-friendly than the traditional grid since the power lines that pass through the rainforest may affect the wildlife there. Furthermore, it is cheap and sustainable and offers communities energy independence. Although Brazil is one of the sunniest countries in the world, it has only 2% of solar energy in its energy mix but experts claim that the Amazon is especially promising in terms of the development of this type of energy. Nevertheless, about 1 million people in the Brazilian Amazon do not have access to the power grid and rely mainly on generators or live in the dark.
The Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS) which launched the project is now planning to construct small solar plants in other communities in the Amazon state. If the current project proves successful, the General Superintendent of FAS, Virgilio Viana, hopes he will be able to persuade the government to invest more in development of solar projects in the Amazon.
