Rafaela Schuller

Brazilian engineer pioneering renewable energy in Amazon communities

Rafaela Schuller's solar energy projects have electrified over 150 remote Amazonian villages previously without power. As CEO of Energia Solar Amazonia, she developed floating solar panels that adapt to the region's flooding cycles, a design now used in UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals case studies. Her Rainforest Power Initiative trains indigenous communities to maintain systems, creating 800+ green jobs. Schuller's TEDx talk "Energy That Grows With the River" inspired similar projects in Congo Basin nations. Her 2021 book Solar Rivers: Harnessing Light in Earth's Green Lungs won the Green Tech Book Award. Forbes named her one of Latin America's 30 Under 30 in 2020 for transforming energy access without harming biodiversity.