{"id":60057579,"date":"2024-10-29T11:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T11:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=photo_story&p=60057579"},"modified":"2024-10-29T13:57:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T13:57:44","slug":"solar-power-is-turning-the-tide-on-energy-inequality-in-the-amazon","status":"publish","type":"photo_story","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/solar-power-is-turning-the-tide-on-energy-inequality-in-the-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar power is turning the tide on energy inequality in the Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the height of the day, the relentless sun and heat of the Amazon plunge the village of Piyulaga into a sleepy silence. Those who aren\u2019t fishing or harvesting manioc in the distance find refuge in the shade of thatched huts, with even the birds and insects seemingly taking cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s at dusk that life awakens in this village in the Xingu Indigenous territory, in Brazil\u2019s midwestern state of Mato Grosso. Families appear at the entrance of their huts, which form a circle at the heart of the settlement. Children run around, riding their bikes and playing football, while the sounds of Brazilian country music echo out as the first lights come on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, some gather around the television, others lie in hammocks engrossed in their mobile phones, while spotlights illuminate the communal area throughout the night. It would all be trivial if it weren\u2019t for one detail: in August, when Dialogue Earth visited the community, such light had only been there for a month, thanks to the installation of new solar panels on each of the houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Several<\/div>
Families gather to watch television, use their mobiles and cook inside illuminated huts, thanks to newly installed solar panels in the village of Piyulaga. While it is a crucial region for hydroelectric generation and oil extraction, the Amazon is also home to many populations cut off from electricity grids (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Amazon regions of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru \u2013 together home to more than 80%<\/a> of the biome \u2013 have each country\u2019s lowest levels of electricity coverage. Despite the Amazon being crucial for hydroelectric generation<\/a> and oil extraction<\/a>, the majority of the populations cut off from these countries\u2019 national grids live in these regions. Deriving little benefit from the hydropower that flows from their own lands, these remote areas are widely reliant on more expensive and polluting<\/a> sources, such as thermoelectric plants and diesel generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This lack of access to electricity has brought with it a string of deficiencies in essential services, such as health, education, water supply and communication, which are further reflected<\/a> \u2013 and perpetuated \u2013 by the low development indicators recorded in many parts of these regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, cases such as Piyulaga are showing that, in addition to the challenges, the solutions can also be shared, with solar energy helping to democratise electricity in the Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to experts interviewed by Dialogue Earth, small solar systems are cheaper, have a smaller environmental impact, and require less maintenance than other sources, also avoiding emissions of polluting gases. In addition, they point to the Amazon\u2019s high levels of solar irradiation as offering strong conditions for generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn remote regions, the choice of solar energy has a universal consensus,\u201d said Vin\u00edcius Oliveira, project leader at the Institute for Energy and the Environment (Iema), a non-profit organisation promoting public policies on energy and transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial<\/div>
For these remote areas that are widely reliant on more expensive and polluting sources such as diesel generators, solar energy is becoming a transformative option (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, solar projects have multiplied<\/a> in communities in various Amazonian countries, mainly with funding from civil society organisations, according to Iema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut in order to solve the problem at scale, you need a lot of resources and a certain \u2018commitment\u2019… otherwise you become dependent on philanthropy,\u201d said Oliveira. \u201cThis is only possible through public policies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public policy advances in Brazil<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brazil\u2019s vast electricity system, the largest in Latin America, brings together generation and networks from across its varied regions into a grid known as the National Interconnected System (SIN), which serves nearly 99% of its population. With the exception of the north-eastern island Fernando de Noronha, all of Brazil\u2019s isolated systems<\/a> that lack a connection to the SIN are located in the Amazon. This means that 3 million people, the majority in the region, depend on the supply from thermoelectric plants, and almost 1 million have only sporadic access<\/a> to electricity, supplied mainly by diesel generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, the government of former president Jair Bolsonaro launched<\/a> the More Light for the Amazon programme to expand renewable energy in isolated areas, but progress has been slow<\/a>. By the end of 2022, 13,000 households, less than 20% of the 70,000 promised<\/a>, were connected, according to an analysis by Dialogue Earth based on data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, this initiative was integrated into Luz para Todos<\/em> (Light for All), a flagship policy of Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u2019s current government, launched 20 years earlier during his previous presidency and revived on his return to power last year. Since then, the process has accelerated: until recently, 31,000 homes \u2013 more than twice as many as in the previous programme \u2013 have been connected in remote areas of the Amazon, although this represents just over 10% of the new target of 228,000 units<\/a> by 2026. Renewable electricity has already reached the villages of the Xingu territory, Brazil\u2019s oldest Indigenous reserve, demarcated in 1961, and a forerunner in solar projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
A family gathers by their hut at dusk, with solar panels seen in the background. Indigenous leader Watatakalu Yawalapiti says the Xingu territory was not in favour of being connected to transmission lines that change the landscape and result in deforestation (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t in favour of transmission lines within the territory,\u201d says Watatakalu Yawalapiti, a leader in the Xingu Indigenous Association. \u201cThey change the aesthetics of the villages and cause deforestation. That\u2019s why we started organising solar energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), an environmental organisation with decades of experience working with the Xingu peoples, began installing<\/a> solar panels at strategic points in the 2.6 million hectare territory, which until then had been massively dependent on diesel generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project went from strength to strength in 2015, with new philanthropic resources enabling electricity to be extended to community areas in around 100 of its villages, according to the ISA. The initiative also supported technical training for Indigenous people to manage and maintain the equipment. \u201cEverything was done to serve the collective,\u201d said Marcelo Martins, an ISA agronomist, pointing out that schools, health centres and water pumps have since gained clean energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial<\/div>
In 2009, the Instituto Socioambiental began installing solar panels at strategic points in the Xingu territory, helping to power schools, health centres and water pumps with clean energy (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

During the Covid-19 pandemic, electrification advanced due to the need for communication and to support health schemes, with many families buying solar panels on their own, reports Yawalapiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, solar energy in Xingu is entering a new phase: the local energy distributor, with funds from the federal government, is equipping each house in the village with panels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tapiyawa Waur\u00e1\u2019s oca<\/em>, the name for a typical Indigenous house, was under construction in the Piyulaga village in August. Trunks of corrugated wood held together by trusses awaited the thatched roof, letting the afternoon sun seep through the structure. Although his family could not yet settle there, solar panels were already providing energy to charge mobile phones and keep fish cool. \u201cBefore, they had to go straight into the fire,\u201d said the man in charge of school lunches, taking a tucunar\u00e9<\/em> fish out of the newly installed freezer. \u201cNow I can leave them here for longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/div>
Tapiyawa Waur\u00e1 shows off a tucunar\u00e9<\/em> from his freezer, powered by solar panels connected to his unfinished hut. He says that he is now able to keep fish fresh for much longer (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"A<\/div>
The village\u2019s night sky is no longer pitch black, due to artificial lights powered by solar panels, but the noise and smell from the diesel generators used previously is gone (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The freezer, mobile phones and spotlights are now among the community\u2019s most used, and most valued, bits of equipment. Though the night sky is no longer as starry with the increase in artificial light, the solar panels\u2019 replacement of many of the generators has brought quiet and taken away the smell of burning fuel, say residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One such diesel generator replaced by a solar panel has been at the village health centre. Here, Indigenous health worker Arag\u00e3o Waur\u00e1 provides primary care, such as taking babies\u2019 temperatures and giving advice on simple wounds and inflammations. \u201cIf there\u2019s a serious patient, we can contact the team at the hub by mobile phone and they\u2019ll come here,\u201d he said. These hubs are strategic locations within the territory that have facilities run by Funai, the government\u2019s Indigenous agency, and health posts with more professionals and infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"a<\/div>
Indigenous health worker Arag\u00e3o Waur\u00e1 explains that he can now contact other health posts with more professionals and infrastructure by mobile phone when needed (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"An<\/div>
An internet router and phones charge inside a hut in the Piyulaga village. Indigenous leaders have expressed concern about the arrival of unlimited internet in a community that maintains a strong language and traditions (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The telephone box in one corner of the village no longer works either. Mobile phones are in the hands of almost everyone, everywhere. This direct and unlimited connection to the internet in a place where until recently there was little access, and where the population maintains a strong language and traditional rituals, has brought with it some concerns among leaders, but they say that there is no turning back from this change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTechnology comes with a problem, but it will be useful for those who are aware,\u201d says Yanahin Waur\u00e1, president of the Tulukai Association, which operates in Piyulaga. \u201cA lot of people crash their cars or get hurt on their motorbikes, but it\u2019s not technology that causes this, it\u2019s the person themselves. So we try to raise awareness.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promising initiatives in Peru and Ecuador<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the Peruvian Amazon, an initiative is taking advantage of the connectivity provided by solar energy to strengthen the protection of lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2023, the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (Aidesep) has been leading a project<\/a> that instals solar panels and satellite internet in communities without access to electricity in Amazonas, Loreto and Ucayali, departments in Peru\u2019s north-east. According to Julio Cusurichi, an Indigenous leader and Aidesep coordinator, these panels not only provide energy, but also guarantee communication in remote areas, strengthening surveillance and forest protection across large territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cusurichi explains that they are integrating a platform that enables environmental activists to document territorial threats in real time. Each community has trained technicians equipped to record information using their cell phones. This data is then uploaded and stored on an online platform, directly connected to Aidesep\u2019s national office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system has already been implemented in Loreto and Ucayali, and the database houses alerts regarding territorial invasions, conflicts with external parties, threats to leaders, and records of leaders who have lost their lives defending their land. Every incident is thoroughly documented and stored in this centralised system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the help of the equipment already installed, an analysis is being conducted to identify communities in each region that lack access to electricity or other sources of lighting in their homes. \u201cThe government isn\u2019t interested in supporting services that will help communities, but solar energy is an alternative,\u201d explains Cusurichi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"several<\/div>
Installation of a solar panel in the Seok\u00ebya community of the Siona Indigenous group, in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon. This project, led by Indigenous organisation the Ceibo Alliance, has already installed 121 solar systems in 16 communities (Image: Daris Payaguaje \/ Alianza Ceibo)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A similar project has also found success in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Ceibo Alliance, an organisation that brings together the Secoya, Siona, Kof\u00e1n and Waorani Indigenous peoples, has already installed 121 solar systems in 16 communities, allowing territorial guards to use clean energy to charge their drones, GPS and other surveillance equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, agents from the Kof\u00e1n community of Sinangoe in Sucumb\u00edos province \u2013 a group that previously gained headlines for winning a historic case<\/a> against mining concessions \u2013 are now reportedly able to patrol their territory thanks to the power brought by solar panels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must implement projects that benefit [the communities], creating autonomy and without harming the environment and culture,\u201d says Hern\u00e1n Payaguaje, co-founder of the alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere in Ecuador, innovation has been seen in projects such as the Kara Solar Foundation, which operates solar-powered boats<\/a> in Achuar Indigenous communities in the provinces of Pastaza and Morona Santiago. These boats facilitate the transport of people and goods, improving access to health and education services in remote areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as yet, these projects are making but a modest dent when compared to the challenge of replacing fossil fuel generators, which are still the main alternative in these regions, according to Eduardo Pichilingue, coordinator of the Peruvian division of Cuencas Sagradas (Sacred Basins), an alliance of 26 Indigenous organisations<\/a>, activists and academics who have come together to protect the Amazon in Ecuador and Peru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Although the Ecuadorian Amazon is home to most of the country\u2019s oil blocks and its main hydroelectric dam, more than 70% <\/a>of its Indigenous communities<\/a> are beyond the reach of the national grid, echoing the situation of their Brazilian neighbours. The rate is similar in the Peruvian Amazon, which faces even more logistical challenges given that its territory is several times larger than in Ecuador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peru\u2019s Ministry of Energy and Mines argues<\/a> that this lack of supply is due to long distances, low electricity consumption in these regions, dispersed populations and their limited purchasing power \u2013 factors that make rural and Indigenous electrification projects unattractive to private sector initiatives, necessitating greater state support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for Jos\u00e9 Serra Vega, an independent energy and environmental consultant, the difficulty goes beyond logistics. \u201cThe Amazon is treated as if it were a distant or foreign country,\u201d says the Peruvian expert. \u201cThere is no interest in the Amazon due to lack of knowledge and because its inhabitants have little political weight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A report<\/a> by the Pachamama Foundation argues that Peru and Ecuador have great potential for developing renewable energies, but have not yet invested enough in the sector. \u201cThe cost of generation with solar panels is cheaper than with hydroelectric plants. The solution is there,\u201d says Pichilingue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cost reduction drives solar energy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the organisations and communities turning to solar energy, the recent significant drop in the costs of equipment and production has worked greatly in their favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency<\/a>, the price of solar per kilowatt hour of generation, taking into account all stages of building and operation, has plummeted in the last decade, having previously been significantly higher than other renewable sources, making it an ever more competitive option on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n