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
- Memo
Four Meta-Challenges to Power Sector Reform in Sub-Saharan Markets
Sub-Saharan African countries urgently need more electricity services to foster economic growth and job creation. While plugging the energy gap is not sufficient to address all the region’s economic woes, it is a fundamental building block to the wider aspirations of these societies.Continue Reading 
MemoThe Future of Bangladesh’s Power Sector
While the country will likely achieve universal access soon, load-shedding is still a common occurrence and a major obstacle to economic activity. In order to prepare for a population that will be far bigger (200 million or more by 2050) and aspires to be richer (aiming for Developed Country status by 2041), the government plans to build a total of 60 gigawatts (GW) of new generation by 2041.Continue Reading
Op EdScientific American: How a Key Energy Technology Can Help Developing Countries
A global energy transition is under way. Its potential to redraw the landscape will be most profoundly felt in developing economies.Continue Reading
MemoIndia’s Next Generation of Electricity Priorities
India, already the third largest electricity producer in the world, is rapidly expanding its power sector. In 2017, India alone accounted for a quarter of the rise in global power demand and is projected to more than triple its electricity consumption by 2040.Continue Reading
MultimediaPodcast: Todd Moss on Resources Radio
Host Daniel Raimi of Resources For the Future talks with Todd Moss. They cover two major topics: avoiding the so-called "oil curse" in the nation of Guyana, and supporting economic growth in the developing world by improving energy access for businesses and industries. Listen to the whole Podcast below or here.Continue Reading
MultimediaPodcast: Todd Moss on Breakthrough Dialogues
It is universally true that all rich countries use a lot of energy. This might make you think about in-home systems: refrigerators, lights, etc.Continue Reading
ReportWorking Group: America’s Global Infrastructure Opportunity
The launch of the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (USDFC) in October 2019 is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate capital flows into emerging and frontier markets in support of U.S.Continue Reading- Op Ed
Axios 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