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Abstract While there have been efforts to supply off-grid energy in the Amazon, these attempts have focused on low upfront costs and deployment rates. These “get-energy-quick” methods have almost solely adopted diesel generators, ignoring the environmental and social risks associated with the known noise and pollution of combustion engines. Alternatively, it is recommended, herein, to supply off-grid needs with renewable, distributed microgrids comprised of photovoltaics (PV) and in-stream generators (ISG). Utilization of a hybrid combination of renewable generators can provide an energetically, environmentally, and financially feasible alternative to typical electrification methods, depending on available solar irradiation and riverine characteristics, that with community engagement allows for a participatory codesign process that takes into consideration people’s needs. A convergent solution development framework that includes designers—a team of social scientists, engineers, and communication specialists—and communities as well as the local industry is examined here, by which the future negative impacts at the human–machine–environment nexus can be minimized by iterative, continuous interaction between these key actors. 

Abstract Nations in the global South have developed hydropower projects at a rapid pace in recent decades, most notably Brazil and China. These projects have long‐documented impacts on social and ecological systems, yet the implications of hydropower for human well‐being and health are not fully understood. In this paper, we examine eight Brazilian Amazon communities in the Madeira river basin, near the Jirau and Santo Antônio dams (sample size: 536 households). We evaluate how impacts on community resources, social capital, and the experience of resettlement influence self‐rated health in these communities. Results suggest that the dams strained community resources and social capital, which were associated with reductions in self‐rated health. In particular, cognitive social capital (i.e., trust) is lower after the dams' construction. The effect of resettlement and compensation is more nuanced and qualified. This work suggests that hydropower projects have broad deleterious impacts on well‐being and health of human populations in hosting regions and that better directed efforts are required on the part of dam developers to reduce these negative outcomes. 

Large hydropower dams and plants have been an engineering feat and a source of national pride in both the Global North and South. They were promoted as a source of clean energy almost unquestionably until the environmental awakening of the 60’s. Since then, the growing number of documented socioenvironmental impacts caused by large dams have put this energy source under scrutiny. Nevertheless, dam builders continue to promote this solution based on outdated arguments and unfulfilled promises connected to the creation of jobs, stimulation of the regional economy by the production of vast amounts of cheap electricity, improvement of local water quality and infrastructure, amongst others. Considering that most of the large dams currently planned or under construction are situated in socioenvironmentally sensitive areas, such as the Amazon, which conservation is of high importance for reaching of climate goals, this paper deconstructs myths created by dam boosters in order to reach the conclusion that large dams should not be built in the Amazon (or anywhere else). 

Large hydropower projects continue to be built in developing nations, despite their known negative impacts. Large-scale energy projects strain local infrastructure and reduce access to infrastructure for households that live near them. Here we investigate the link between large-scale hydropower projects and stress. Our results suggest that these projects create stress through two mechanisms: strains on community resources and through the process of displacement. We also ask how compensation and resettlement programs condition these relationships. Using data from the Madeira river basin in the Brazilian Amazon, we find that hydropower projects increase stress by reducing access to energy, water, sanitation and land. Compensation provided was not sufficient to moderate this effect. 

Millions of people across the world live off-grid not by choice but because they live in rural areas, have low income, and have no political clout. Delivering sustainable energy solutions to such a substantial amount of the world’s population requires more than a technological fix; it requires leveraging the knowledge of underserved populations working together with a transdisciplinary team to find holistically derived solutions. Our original research has resulted in an innovative Convergence Framework integrating the fields of engineering, social sciences, and communication, and is based on working together with communities and other stakeholders to address the challenges posed by delivering clean energy solutions. In this paper, we discuss the evolution of this Framework and illustrate how this Framework is being operationalized in our on-going research project, cocreating hybrid renewable energy systems for off-grid communities in the Brazilian Amazon. The research shows how this Framework can address clean energy transitions, strengthen emerging industries at local level, and foster Global North–South scholarly collaborations. We do so by the integration of social science and engineering and by focusing on community engagement, energy justice, and governance for underserved communities. Further, this solution-driven Framework leads to the emergence of unique approaches that advance scientific knowledge, while at the same time addressing community needs.