A 165kWh battery energy storage system has been installed as part of a solar mini-grid intended to bring reliable electricity and new economic opportunities – from selling processed açaí – to a remote community in the Brazilian Amazon.
The system combines 50kWp of solar generation with 165kWh of storage at Bela Conquista, in the Catuá-Ipixuna Extractive Reserve in Amazonas state. The battery chemistry, system supplier and power rating were not disclosed.
It will supply an açaí processing plant that residents have been attempting to bring into operation since 2017. Unreliable electricity from the community’s existing distribution line, backed by diesel generation, could not operate all the plant’s machinery and contributed to harvested fruit being lost.
With the new mini-grid, the facility is expected to produce as much as 36,000 litres of açaí pulp annually. Electricity is also being supplied to the community school, kitchen, water well and community centre.
“The biggest bottleneck we faced in getting the business to operate was the lack of reliable energy,” said Daniel Gama, a Bela Conquista resident and president of the processing facility project.
“We had many problems with the existing grid because of the conditions of the distribution line, and the electricity reaching the facility was not sufficient to power all the machines.”
Resident and processing facility deputy secretary Luciana Sena said the community would be able to purchase more fruit, reduce losses and increase household incomes.
The installation forms part of the Luz na Floresta – or Light in the Forest – project operated by the Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS), the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Community members will be trained to manage, operate and maintain both the energy system and the processing plant. The partners said local responsibility for the equipment was intended to support the project’s long-term operation.
The Bela Conquista installation is the first demonstration of a model the partners aim to extend through 20 pilot projects over the next two to three years, reaching as many as 25 Amazon communities.
The planned systems would support activities including fishing, agriculture and fruit processing. Together, they are projected to generate up to 1GWh of solar electricity annually, displace 255,000 litres of diesel and avoid 680 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
The wider initiative is expected to benefit more than 600 families. It is also intended to provide evidence for Brazilian government policy on expanding electricity access to isolated communities.
Global Energy Alliance Brazil delivery lead Luisa Valentim said the project used energy “as a driver of prosperity”, allowing people to remain in their communities while improving their quality of life and opportunities to earn an income.
Community matriarch Luzia Pinto said: “Our hope is that people will reduce deforestation for planting and farming and that we can increasingly rely on extractive activities, taking from the forest what it already offers us.
“We have Brazil nuts here, as well as açaí, which is our main product today. We can harvest from nature without deforesting and without harming our forest.”
Photo: processing acai in the Amazon using solar power – in Bela Conquista, Brazil
Credit: Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
