Energy Solutions

Millions of people around the globe are now living without the benefit of modern energy services. Large dams connected to urban grids are ill-suited to meeting their needs. Renewable energy technologies produce clean energy, can be better scaled to meet demand than large dams, reduce dependence on problematic energy sources such as fossil fuels and large hydro, and can be used in rural areas far from the grid, where most of the world’s un-electrified communities are located. Renewables create more jobs, and more localized jobs.

Many renewables are now only the cheapest option where the cost of extending the grid is prohibitive. But the cost of renewables depends on what you account for, and generally the cost of traditional energy has not included the cost of "externalities" such as pollution or the indirect subsidies given it, such as roads and railroads to transport oil and coal. Energy experts are calling for greatly increased R&D spending to improve existing technologies and find new ones.