About Project RIVR
Part of our mission is to make a positive impact in our community and give back to the planet. Project RIVR is our way of doing that. With each batch of boards we sell, we will choose a community project to highlight and support. Each project has a 501(c)(3) non-profit designation and we will donate 5% of total sales to that project. Have a community project for us to consider? Let us know!
Current: Project #1
Pueblo Solar Trailer, Central District of Seattle
On 21st and Union in Seattle's Central District sits El Costeño, a Mexican food truck that not only pumps out some of the best tortas, mole, and elotes in the city, but one of its owners, Moises Santos, is working on a side project that has the whole neighborhood talking. Perhaps it's perfect timing, or Moises' pure hustle and commitment to his community that has led us here, but we are excited to feature his Pueblo Solar Trailer as our very first Project RIVR, where 5% of our gross profit of the RIVR 'Launch' Board will go directly to help Moises finish the build.
The 9.5kW Pueblo Solar Trailer is Seattle’s first grid-tied mobile solar trailer, aimed to offset over 100% of El Costeño’s electrical usage with clean energy powered from the sun. The excess energy will be pushed back to the Seattle City Light grid. This has been a dream of Moises' since the day he parked El Costeño in the Uncle Ikes parking lot in 2016 and he’s got the finish line in sight.
With the obvious predicament of lack of rooftop space on El Costeño, Moises set out to design a mobile trailer, learning as he went about structural engineering, photovoltaic electrical engineering, system design, solar installation and frustratingly, how to navigate the city's bureaucracy and lack of accountability.
Although Moises has learned a ton of lessons along the way, he’s also had many blessings that have helped him get as far as he’s gotten.
His first major win was receiving a $20,000 grant from ASES (American Solar Energy Society) who is also Moises’ 501(c)(3) sponsor. With that he was able to commission the build of the metal frame with hydraulic solar panel wings at Pacific Sheet Metal and he purchased (28) 330watt solar panels form Silfab Solar.
He’s received generous help from Washington State's most reputable solar installation company, A&R Solar, whose employees have been donating their time, energy, and expertise on the technical aspects of the installation. One of the region's most influential architecture firms, Olson Kundig Architects have donated their expertise to design a water collection system within the trailer. Dakota Lithium donated a 12v 1200ah 15KwH battery bank for backup power when the grid goes down.
Moises is not only building the solar trailer to offset El Costeño's electrical usage. He's taking this opportunity to teach his neighborhood about the importance of clean energy. On top of that, Moises has made his utility-approved system design and structural drawings open source, so anyone can use his design to build a mobile trailer themselves. His dream is to see it one day in a small remote village somewhere on the other side of the planet.
Despite all the good fortune, Moises has still had to dig deep into his own pockets to bring this project to reality and our goal is to help offset that amount. We're excited to make the Pueblo Solar Trailer our first Project RIVR community impact program.
Moises embodies the passion for doing good that we want to support, and hope that his story will help motivate you or someone you know to buy a RIVR 'Launch' Inflatable paddle, where 5% will go directly to support Moises Santos's Pueblo Solar Trailer.