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<\/div><\/a> Rivers are the natural transport network. They connect communities over vast distances. In 2016 a new initiative began building fuel\/noise\/pollution free transport to the Amazon: solar-powered river boats.<\/div><\/a> Kara Solar<\/a>, a non-profit organisation working in the Amazon is demonstrating that clean energy systems can support mobility without opening the door to deforestation. Instead of building roads, they focus on strengthening river transport using solar-electric boats designed specifically for local conditions.<\/p>\nResearch by the Conservation Strategy Fund highlights why this matters. In Achuar communities in Ecuador, support for road construction dropped dramatically \u2014 from 41% to just 2% \u2014 after solar-powered river transport became available.<\/p>\n
When communities are offered viable alternatives, the perceived need for roads disappears.<\/p>\n
Electric boats<\/h4>\n
Victron distributor Renova Energia<\/a> provided equipment and training so that Kara Solar could, themselves, build launch and maintain a fleet of solar powered community shuttle boats which are now operating in Achuar territory as well as Brazil, Peru, Suriname and Solomon Islands. And Kara Solar is launching a new electric long tail peque-peque boat designed to replace ubiquitous family-sized gasoline boats. Both of these boats are familiar in form, but radically different in operation: quiet, emission-free and powered by the sun. Designed for people. Built for the unique Amazon conditions. “To date, Kara Solar has supported the construction of 12 solar-powered community shuttle boats across five countries: Ecuador (in collaboration with the Achuar Nationality of Ecuador), Peru (with the Wampis Nation of Peru), Brazil, Suriname, and the Solomon Islands. These shuttle boats are between 10 and 16 meters long and can carry on average 15 passengers and 1200 kg of cargo. Some are powered 100% by energy generated from rooftop solar arrays, while others use shore based solar recharge stations, or a combination of the two<\/em>.” says Oliver Utne, Founder and Managing Director of Kara Solar.<\/p>\n “Through our manufacturing spin-off Motores Amazonas<\/a> <\/em>[which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank] we have developed a second type of boat: the electric peque-peque. Peque-peques are small boats that typically carry about eight passengers and are traditionally powered by long-tail gasoline motors. They are probably the most common form of boat in the Amazon. <\/em><\/p>\n “Our 5kW electric peque-peque matches the power of a typical 9-horsepower gasoline engine widely used in the region, while eliminating fuel costs, noise, and river contamination from lubricant oil. For batteries, this new motor uses Victron Lithium NG Batteries<\/a> \u00a051,2V\/100Ah in combination with the SmallBMS NG<\/a> battery management system, protected by a rugged container, offering a range of approximately 30 km per battery, with multiple batteries able to be used together,<\/em>” he says. On shore the typical installation comprises<\/p>\n Equipment built specifically for jungle conditions – together with local technical capacity are both vital. In the vast rainforest where the nearest town might be days away, broken equipment can\u2019t just be thrown away and replaced; it has to be repairable. Kara Solar places strong emphasis on who controls the technology. Community members are trained as technicians to operate, maintain and repair the power transport and associated powers systems, which are kept in local ownership. For communities that rely on fishing and hunting, noise matters. Conventional petrol outboard motors disrupt wildlife and make traditional activities harder. Solar-electric boats operate almost silently, preserving the soundscape of the river and reducing fuel dependency at the same time. Energy systems are most resilient when local people understand them, trust them and can maintain them independently. Kara Solar\u2019s long-term vision includes a network of Indigenous-owned solar charging stations along hundreds of kilometres of river.<\/p>\n These solar centres will enable reliable transport while also providing electricity for lighting, communications and refrigeration. Solar centres are important components of the transport network in Achuar territory, recharging boats and providing electricity for community internet access, local schools, community tourism centres, and conservation initiatives (such as printers, projectors, computers, public lights and charging of territorial monitoring equipment like drones, cameras, gps, and more). “There are also economic challenges<\/em>,” says Oliver Utne; “In rural parts of the Amazon, the cost of deploying electric river transport is less than the cost of comparable gasoline boats. But because initial capital costs are higher, upfront capital is required. Indigenous Amazon communities are rich in land, but cash poor, and do not have the capital to pay the initial costs. That\u2019s why designing the right financial and governance models specifically for the Amazon is just as important as engineering the right equipment for rainforest conditions. <\/em><\/p>\n “Through our Solar Rivers initiative, we are incubating funding and community governance models that catalyze the sustainable deployment of boats by allowing local boat operators to pay for equipment over time, like a leasing model.<\/em>“ For the Amazon, the most dynamic choice may be the one that doesn\u2019t include a road at all.<\/p>\n Let’s take a river trip by solar powered boat:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/a> The community shuttle boats have:<\/p>\n\n
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<\/div><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/a><\/p>\nHunting. Fishing.<\/h4>\n
<\/div><\/a> Nantu Canelos – President of Kara Solar and a member of the Achuar community of Sharamentsa – explains: “Technical knowledge is cultivated within the communities so that power \u2014 in every sense of the word \u2014 remains in their hands.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/a> Motores Amazonas is working to establish local manufacturing and assembly units to support long-term scalability. The aim is not a one-off project, but a self-sustaining ecosystem of transport, energy and technical capacity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/a> The Amazon remains one of the few regions on Earth without large-scale transport and electricity infrastructure. How it is provided will shape not only the future of Indigenous territories, but the future of the rainforest itself.<\/p>\n