Juan Carlos Larrain

Chilean inventor who revolutionized solar energy access in remote regions

Juan Carlos Larrain (1925-1998) pioneered decentralized solar power systems that brought electricity to over 500,000 people in Latin America's most remote areas. A self-taught engineer from Santiago, he invented the Modular Solar Array in 1957 - a lightweight, portable photovoltaic system that could be assembled without heavy machinery. His 1964 Patagonia Project provided the first consistent electricity to Tierra del Fuego communities, using his patent-pending rotating panel technology to maximize sunlight capture in low-angle regions. Despite government opposition to his cooperative business model, Larrain's Energy as a Service approach allowed communities to pay with local goods instead of cash. His 1969 collaboration with UNICEF created the first solar-powered vaccine refrigeration units, saving an estimated 200,000 children from preventable diseases. Though overshadowed by later Silicon Valley innovators, Larrain's designs remain in use across Andean villages. His 1972 manifesto Solar Democracy argued that energy access was a human right, ideas now central to modern renewable energy discourse.