Rosilane Yarumare rises just after dawn in the Baré Indigenous community of Terra Preta in Manaus, Amazonas, where the air is thick with humidity and humming cicadas. For decades, the only electricity in this region came from diesel generators, which would only work for a few hours in the morning. “By the afternoon” protests Rosilane, “it’s already not working.” Sometimes the power would go out and come back after three days, or a week.” Without power, the water pump failed to work, leaving families without running water for significant lengths of time. Now, Terra Preta has consistent energy and running water around the clock, using pumps powered by Revolusolar’s solar panels.
Founded in the Babilônia favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2015, Revolusolar was established to bring energy independence to communities that struggle with energy access in Brazil. To date, Revolusolar has installed solar capacity across ten territories nationally, reaching more than 15,000 people. In urban and rural centers, it offers quality solutions at fair and affordable prices. In the Amazon region it goes further, replacing dependence on diesel with community-based solar energy and transforming energy access. In all of these areas, it empowers local leaders to ensure the long-term sustainability of the solutions.
Brazil is one of the world's largest clean energy producers, and yet more than one million of its residents live without any electricity at all, most of them located deep in the Amazon region. For communities that do have power, it often comes at a crushing cost: “Brazil has one of the most expensive energy bills in the world,” says Graziella Albuquerque, Director of Institutional and Government Relations at Revolusolar. In 2021, an Intelligence in Research and Consulting (IPEC) study found that 46% of Brazilian families spend more than half of their income on energy and gas expenses, which Albuquerque notes leads to food and financial insecurity in family budgets. This burden falls predominantly on traditional communities and female-led households.
In the Amazon, the majority of households rely on an expensive, unreliable, and finite supply of diesel generators that are capable of powering a home or schoolhouse for only a few hours per day. Revolusolar is helping change that.
Revolusolar is expanding its solar installations to the Amazon and Northeast regions of Brazil. Over 10 years of operation, the organization has built 417 kWp of installed capacity operating in 10 territories across Brazil, with 113 students trained as solar installers and electricians, and more than 15,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries.
Revolusolar’s model represents a vision of the energy transition that is technically rigorous and grounded in cultural integrity. The organization began as a collective effort of residents and solar energy professionals coming together to launch Brazil’s first solar cooperative in a Carioca community, and that community-centered spirit continues to define its approach today.
“Revolusolar was founded together with the community itself. The entire design of the project, from conception through planning, is built through dialogue with the community.”
Graziella Albuquerque
Their methodology, called the Ciclo Solar (Solar Cycle), upholds three pillars: installing solar systems, including a microgrid; training local residents as electricians and solar technicians; and building community ownership through education and cultural stewardship. Projects are even named after local leaders as a small but meaningful act of recognition.
Revolusolar’s ambition extends beyond kilowatts installed. Igor Mello, Revolusolar’s Executive Director, says they are building a model they hope others will replicate: “If other entities, other NGOs, and other private companies across Latin America and the world are able to implement our model, that's a huge success for us. We can light the way, we can show this is a model that works.”
For Clodoaldo Aleixo, Chief of the Baré Tribe of Terra Preta, the change is already tangible: “The water pump is working 100% and we no longer worry about power cuts… A great benefit for the community and its families, allowing them to have water in their homes. Water is life, and we depend on it every single day”.
Learn more about Revolusolar’s community-based methodology and how the organization is redefining clean energy access across Brazil here.
