Over 1 billion people do not have access to reliable, affordable electricity; they are often forced to turn to polluting, hazardous, and expensive solutions like kerosene, charcoal and diesel in order to fuel their lives.
Centralized power production, grid distribution, and long-distance transmission is simply not a cost-effective or timely solution for reaching rural areas with electricity, where 85% of those without energy live. Without a radical new approach, it is anticipated that by 2030—the year in which the world has pledged to achieve universal energy access—there will be more people in Africa living in energy poverty than there are today.
Greater investment and policy support for distributed renewable solutions—including solar lanterns, household systems (rooftop solar) and mini-grids powered by wind, water or sun—is the fastest, cleanest, and most affordable way of achieving energy access. And the only way we will meet our global goals.
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Check out our Fact Sheets below, or watch the 'Why Power for All?' video to learn more.
Decentralized renewables provide:
- A faster way to achieve energy access than 'business as usual'
- A more cost effective way to achieve energy access than 'business as usual'
- A climate-friendly way to achieve energy access, which can save almost a gigaton of CO2e