Access to reliable electricity remains one of the biggest barriers to economic growth in many remote regions of the world. In the Amazonian community of Soledad, Peru, which requires several days of travel by road and river to reach, a new solar expansion project is helping to transform a local banana flour production plant into a greater source of employment, income, and opportunity.
The photovoltaic project was led by the Canadian charity Light Up The World (LUTW), which provides photovoltaic systems and hands-on renewable energy training to underserved communities. With support from industry partners, including solar mounting solutions donated by S-5! and solar modules from Silfab Solar, LUTW expanded the plant's energy capacity to support increased production.
S-5!'s support for Soledad's project builds on a previous collaboration with LUTW in Huarcaya, Peru, where the company provided solar-powered fixtures for an off-grid school serving nearly 150 students and more than 15 teachers. That initial joint project demonstrated the real-world impact of secure internet access. to solar energy in remote communities and helped lay the foundation for ongoing collaboration.
Expanding economic opportunities through solar energy
The solar-powered plant is operated by Terra Nuova, a development organization based in Peru, and the Winchinkim Agricultural and Aquaculture Producers Association (ASPAAW), a local producers' association that promotes economic development based on agriculture and aquaculture in the region. The plant began operations in 2022 after LUTW installed its initial solar system. Since then, it has become a critical source of employment and economic activity within the region.
The latest solar expansion will allow the plant to significantly increase its production capacity by supplying energy to industrial-scale dehydration ovens used in the manufacture of banana flour, a growing export product for markets such as Europe and Ecuador. Bananas are a staple food in the region, and the plant can process up to 60 tons of green bananas per month, providing a reliable market for local producers whose crops previously lacked a guaranteed buyer.
“This is the first major business in Soledad,” explained Aaron Cohen, CEO of LUTW. “By expanding the plant’s energy capacity, the project is helping to create jobs and stable incomes for local families, while also supporting farmers throughout the region.”
“Before, producers didn’t have a consistent and reliable place to sell their crops,” said Alan Mariano Antich, ASPAAW’s general manager and plant manager. “Many experienced losses because there were few market opportunities. Now, the plant buys from local producers, providing them with a 100% guaranteed market.”
The impact extends far beyond the plant itself. More than 500 people live in the surrounding community, and local farmers rely on the banana processing operation as a key source of income. With the additional energy capacity now available, the plant expects to double both its production and workforce capacity, growing from eight to 16 employees.
Overcoming extreme installation challenges
While the humanitarian impact is significant, the project also highlights the logistical advantages of a lightweight, rail-free rooftop mounting system in hard-to-reach environments. The recent installation expanded the plant's total system capacity to 32 kWp, with S-5! solutions securing 42 panels representing 16 kWp. By utilizing the plant's existing metal roof, the team avoided the additional materials, labor, and complexity of constructing a separate, ground-mounted support structure.
Reaching Soledad requires approximately three days of travel to the nearest point accessible by road, followed by two additional days by boat on the Santiago River, with travel limited to daylight hours due to the difficult river conditions and lack of navigation lighting.
In a location where every component must be transported by boat, S-5!'s lightweight fastening technology reduced shipping to just three compact boxes of brackets and clamps, drastically lowering transportation costs, simplifying logistics, and making the project much more practical to execute.
“This project demonstrated how critical a lightweight, adaptable rooftop mounting technology can be for remote solar installations,” Cohen commented. “Reducing material weight, transportation complexity, and labor requirements makes projects like this much more viable.”
Renewable energy driving economic opportunities
For LUTW, the project represents more than rural electrification; it is a long-term investment in local economic sustainability and a model for other similar projects in the Peruvian Amazon.
By combining renewable energy infrastructure with job training and community-led development, the organization seeks to create systems that continue to generate economic opportunities long after the installation teams have retired.
The collaboration also demonstrates how commercial solar technologies can support humanitarian and community development efforts in some of the world's most challenging environments.
“When I visited the first project in Huarcaya, I saw firsthand what access to electricity can mean for a community,” said Juan Carlos Fuentes, director of international business at S-5! “It was more than just solar power on a roof. It reinforced that we’re not just providing products; we’re delivering practical solutions that help make clean energy more accessible where it’s needed most. With the Soledad project, that impact extends even further, supporting local production, creating economic opportunities, and helping to strengthen the community in the long term.”
As demand for resilient off-grid solar solutions continues to grow globally, projects like Soledad illustrate the role that innovative mounting systems can play in expanding access to renewable energy while reducing installation costs and complexity.
To learn more about LUTW and how your organization can become a corporate partner to help bring power to remote off-grid communities, visit www.lutw.org .