Powering samba beats with Rio sunshine

On a hillside in Rio de Janeiro, under the city’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, lies the community of Santa Marta. Despite its enviable location, it is poorly connected to the city’s power grid so electricity supplies are unreliable. Local start-up Insolar is changing that.

With the support of Shell, it’s installing solar panels around the community that take advantage of the Rio sunshine and will help bring more and cleaner energy to the local population.

Watch: How can a sunny day help Brazilians learn to samba?

Read the transcript

Title: Shell Better Energy Future Brazil Insolar

Duration: 45”

Insolar Brazil transcript

(Shell track plays)

(Animated sequence)
Open on a blue screen with a white text box in the centre

(Text display)
VO & super: How can a sunny day help Brazilians learn to samba?

(Animated sequence)
The box expands to include all the copy and an animation of both a sun & a couple doing the samba, connecting to the highlighted words.

(Super)
Samba

(Animated sequence)
Shoes doing the samba around the super

(VO)
In the Santa Marta favela of Rio, affordable and reliable electricity is hard to come by.

(Animated sequence)
A Bazillion favela appears with the Bazillion map & flag with a super that reads ‘Santa Marta’

(Animated sequence)
Wires appeared muddle & crossed between electricity poles with lightning bolts coming out of them.

(VO)
Blackouts are common, with many people relying on an unstable energy supply from poorly-wired connections to the city’s grid.

(Animated sequence)
We see the favela going into black out with wires breaking

(Super)
Poorly-wired connections

(VO)
So Shell has partnered with start-up Insolar, to install more than 150 solar panels throughout the favela.

(Animated sequence)
A Brazilian favela appears with the Brazilian map & flag as well as the Shell logo. A yellow text box including appears

(Super)
Insolar
More than 150 solar panels (a visual of a solar panel appears)
2000 hours of sunshine every year

(VO)
Taking advantage of over 2000 hours of sunshine every year, this lets us provide affordable electricity for local crèches…

(Animated sequence)
A samba school sits on top of a hill
It turns to night-time and an image of children at a crèche appears
A couple doing the samba

(VO)
…as well as other community buildings like cultural centres and a Samba school– the hubs of these low-income communities, improving the lives of more than 5000 residents.

(Super)
Crèches
Cultural Centres
Samba school
Improving the lives of more than 5000 residents

(VO)
It’s just one of the ways that Shell and Insolar are helping to bring better energy to people.

(Animated sequence)
We get a bird’s eye view of the favela

(Animated sequence)
A globe with pulling out the UK, China, India, Kenya, Brazil, Germany, and the US

(End frame)
#makethefuture
Shell Pectan
Shell mnemonic

Santa Marta is a community on the rise. It was one of the first communities in Rio to receive public investments for improving security and infrastructure ahead of the 2016 Olympics and has since developed several sustainable businesses.

But one thing that has proved to be a persistent problem is access to reliable and affordable electricity. Shell has collaborated with local start-up Insolar to help provide it.

Founded by Brazilian entrepreneur Henrique Drumond, Insolar aims to empower locals by installing 150 solar panels around Santa Marta.

Taking advantage of the city’s 2,000 hours of sunshine a year, the panels have been put on buildings that benefit the whole community, including nurseries, community centres, and a samba school. The aim is to provide affordable energy so that these organisations can spend more money on things such as books for the children.

Shell and Insolar are also collaborating with the local community and have trained more than 35 residents with the skills to install and maintain the solar panels. So Santa Marta can sustain its solar-powered samba for years to come.