Energy Poverty Impacts Three Billion People. Time to Think Big.
get our Latest InsightsALL NATIONS NEED A HIGH-ENERGY FUTURE TO POWER INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH.
BUT SMALL-SCALE SOLUTIONS TO ENERGY POVERTY CAN’T BUILD COMPETITIVE ECONOMIES. SO THE HOPES AND SECURITY OF BILLIONS ARE AT RISK.
THE ENERGY FOR GROWTH HUB CONNECTS THE LATEST RESEARCH DIRECTLY WITH POLICYMAKER DEMAND — TO FUEL PROSPERITY FOR EVERYONE.
Featured Content
MemoThe ABC's of Power AfricaContext: Power Africa is a US government electrification initiative. With over $50 billion in aggregate commitments since its creation in 2013, it is one of the world’s largest public-private development partnerships.Learn More
MemoThe Virtuous Cycle of Clean Cooking and Electricity CostsAccess to electricity and to clean cooking solutions are separate objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Programs tackling these aims have been largely disconnected, however new research identifies virtuous cycles from their joint consideration: increasing electric cookstove penetrations increases electricity consumption, lowers electricity unit-costs through the realization of economies of scale, and improves the viability of electric cookstoves, continuing the cycle.Learn More
Op EdERSS: Signalling, governance, and goals: Reorienting the United States Power Africa initiativeOriginally in Energy Research & Social Science: Power Africa, the United States’ effort to boost electrification on the continent launched in 2013, has made an impressive start.Learn More
MemoMCC Compacts and the Power SectorThe Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a small, focused US agency which provides assistance to countries that (a) promote economic freedom, (b) rule justly, and (c) invest in people. Learn how it invests in the power sector.Learn More
Recent Posts
Op EdAxios Voices - Global energy programs expand access but aim too low on goals
Electrification initiative Power Africa has been faulted in a USAID Inspector General report for overstating the impact of its development efforts by counting the delivery of solar lanterns as new electricity connections. Why it matters: Accurate measures of progress are essential for reaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7: to ensure reliable and affordable energy worldwide by 2030.Continue Reading- Memo
The Virtuous Cycle of Clean Cooking and Electricity Costs
Access to electricity and to clean cooking solutions are separate objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Programs tackling these aims have been largely disconnected, however new research identifies virtuous cycles from their joint consideration: increasing electric cookstove penetrations increases electricity consumption, lowers electricity unit-costs through the realization of economies of scale, and improves the viability of electric cookstoves, continuing the cycle.Continue Reading 
Op EdSSIR: Scaling Power for Global Prosperity
More than a billion people worldwide live without access to basic electricity: One in every six people on Earth doesn’t have enough energy at home for indoor lighting or even to charge a mobile phone. But as appalling as that figure is, it has misled policy-makers, nonprofits, and funders about the true extent of global energy poverty.Continue Reading- Memo
The ABC's of Power Africa
Context: Power Africa is a US government electrification initiative. With over $50 billion in aggregate commitments since its creation in 2013, it is one of the world’s largest public-private development partnerships.Continue Reading - Multimedia
Podcast: Todd Moss with Mark Goldberg of UN Dispatch
Energy Poverty conventionally refers to the lack of household electricity. Over 1 billion people live without reliable sources of electricity — but a new group seeks to change how we think about energy poverty. We kick off talking about energy poverty–specifically why the traditional definition of that term may be an inadequate understanding of the problem.Continue Reading 
MemoHow to Resolve the Tariff Disputes Blocking Nigeria’s Solar Project Pipeline?
This Memo was drafted in collaboration with Patrick Okigbo of Nextier Advisory In 2016, Nigeria signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) worth US$2.5 billion with 14 independent power producers (IPPs) to build a total 1,125 megawatts of installed solar capacity for the national grid.Continue Reading
MemoGas Flaring: Why does it happen and what can stop it?
When natural gas is brought to the surface but cannot easily be used, it is burned for disposal or “flared.” Flaring mainly happens when gas is produced as a byproduct of oil extraction.Continue Reading
MemoGhana’s Energy Goals: What next after universal access?
As the country of Ghana approaches universal access, we examine Ghana's power sector goals.Continue Reading
MemoPower and the Urban Informal Economy
About half of the world’s employed people working outside agriculture are in the informal economy. Because this diverse sector exists outside the rules and formal administration, little is understood about the current and future power needs of urban informal economies.Continue Reading
MemoTop 10 Barriers to Utility-Scale Solar in Sub-Saharan Markets
Given pervasively high electricity tariffs across the region and rapidly falling CAPEX costs, utility-scale solar may be a profitable cornerstone solution to Sub-Saharan Africa’s energy needs. But large-scale solar projects face major execution barriers that cause high pipeline attrition.Continue Reading