The World Bank, Rio+20, and Energy Access The issue of energy
access is going to be front and center at the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) in June.
Delivering electricity is a key aspect of achieving this lofty
goal. The problem is our current approach - investing in large
scale centralized fossil fuel power plants and stringing power
lines to far flung rural areas - is not working. In fact,
according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), half of
those without electricity today will never be wired to the grid.
It’s clear that if energy access is going to be honestly and
effectively addressed in Rio, another approach is desperately
needed. A big part of the problem is cost. The main ingredients
of conventional grid power (coal and copper) - are soaring.
Meanwhile, the cost of solar panels and LEDs, the ingredients of
distributed renewable power, are racing down even faster. If we
want to deliver on energy access goals in Rio, and we want the
poor to benefit from electricity