João Pedro Costa

Brazilian engineer pioneering renewable energy solutions for Amazon communities

João Pedro Costa (1990-) developed the Solar River initiative in 2020, creating floating solar panels to power remote Amazon communities. His innovative design uses buoys to anchor solar arrays on the Amazon River, providing clean energy while avoiding deforestation. By 2025, the project had electrified 85% of the Solimões region, reducing diesel fuel imports by 40 million liters annually.

Costa's team at Flutuante Energia also invented the Biogas Barge, mobile units that convert organic river waste into biogas. This system serves 300+ riverside villages and prevents 20,000 tons of waste from entering the Amazon annually. His work was showcased at the 2023 COP28 conference and inspired similar projects in the Congo and Mekong basins.

In 2024, he launched the Energia School, a free online platform teaching sustainable engineering to 10,000+ students across South America. His TEDx Rio talk "Powering the Amazon Without Burning It" has become a viral resource for environmental engineers globally. Costa's impact earned him Brazil's National Sustainability Prize (2022) and a MacArthur Fellowship in 2025.