Prof. Emilio Moran and colleagues received 2024 Distinguished Partnership Award for International Community Engagement

March 22, 2024

On Mardh 21, 2024 , Michigan State University's Office of Outreach and engagement awarded its Distinguished Partnership Award for International Community-engaged Scholarship Award to the project "Energy Convergence for Off-grid Amazonian Communities." The award recognized three MSU faculty from three colleges: (Emilio Moran [Geography, CGCEO, CSS]; Maria Claudia Lopez [Community Sustainability, CANR];  Rachel Mourao [Journalism]; and their Brazilian partners [Roberval Santos, UFOPA]).  The project was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Mott Foundation to provide isolated, off-grid communities access to clean and reliable electricity for the first time. To ensure the viability and sustainability of off-grid energy systems in remote areas communities need to be self-reliant in managing and repairing their own systems. The project engaged in a community-engaged participatory co-design process to install photovoltaic panels, hydrokinetic turbines, and microgrids to meet the needs of communities. The project included training of community members in how to install and maintain their new energy system. 

The following documentary, which has both English and Portuguese subtitles, highlights the team's work on sustainable clean energy in the Brazilian Amazon. 

 

The Forgotten: Sustainable Clean Energy for the Brazilian Amazon from Brown Hat Media on Vimeo.