Cooperative Living January 2019 - 29

YourBusiness | by E.G. Nadeau, Ph.D., Contributing Writer
How We Can Electrify the World by 2030
W
hile great strides have been made in the past decade,
over a billion people - one-seventh of the world's
population - still do not have access to electricity.
And for hundreds of millions more, electricity is unreliable,
unhealthy, inadequate and/or expensive.
As part of the United Nations Paris Agreement, many
developed countries have committed to significantly reduce their
use of carbon-dioxide-emitting energy sources. At the same time,
these countries signed on to support the U.N.'s Sustainable
Development Program that seeks to improve the quality of life
worldwide by ensuring " affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all. "
Wind turbines are still cheaper than solar panels in many
situations and will continue to be a critical part of any future mix
of renewable-energy sources.
Both solar and wind must be supplemented by other sources of
energy and energy-storage systems, but lithium ion batteries and
other means of electricity storage are becoming an increasingly
cost-effective way to expand the use of renewable energy at every
level, from individual buildings to power plants.
In projecting future expansion of access to electricity, the 2017
report lays out an " energy-for-all " scenario. Figuring in population
growth, the goal of universal electrification by 2030 would mean
expanding electrical coverage to 1.3 billion people at an approximate
cost of $800 billion. The report concludes
that over 50 percent of this electricity
would be powered by solar energy and
less than 25 percent by fossil fuels.
Many people without access to
electricity live in remote areas that are not
easily connected to major power grids.
As a result, large-scale renewable options
are unfeasible because of the high cost
of transmission lines. Instead, clusters of
homes and businesses at the village level
can be most economically and efficiently
served by electricity generated right in
the community. The report predicts that
more than 60 percent of new electrical
energy will be generated by mini-grid
How can these divergent goals be reconciled? One answer is to
increase use of renewable-energy resources to meet the world's
unmet and under-met needs for electricity.
Data from the World Energy Outlook's 2017 Special Report
indicates that in 2000, 1.7 billion people lacked access to electricity.
The report notes that while this number dropped to 1.1 billion by
2016, the " vast majority of new connections are being provided
through fossil-fuel extensions of the electric grid, " with less than
1 percent of these people gaining access to electricity through
more self-sustaining, off-the-grid systems.
The 2017 report goes on to say that between now and 2030,
renewable energy - especially solar energy - will replace fossil
fuels as the primary source for new electricity connections. " The
rapidly declining costs of solar photovoltaics, battery technologies
and energy-efficient appliances are making renewable energy
systems more affordable. This is particularly true for rural and
dispersed communities not served by a main grid and where it may
take years for one to arrive. Decentralized systems are also critical
for areas with electric grid access but an unreliable power supply. "
A number of renewable-energy projects are underway to better
electrify the world. For example, large solar arrays are being
developed across northern Africa that could eventually replace much
of the fossil-fuel-based electricity via underwater transmission
cables linking the Sahara to Europe. Other large-scale solar
desert-based projects are underway in Saudi Arabia, China and
the southwestern U.S.
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and off-grid systems.
Two recent examples of successful community-solar programs
are in the nations of Liberia and India. Over the past year, the
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and
Bandera Electric Cooperative of Texas have helped a village in rural
Liberia organize their own co-op and install solar panels, a batterystorage
unit and other equipment. NRECA is working with 12 more
Liberian coastal villages to expand this community solar model.
When Narendra Modi became India's Prime Minister in 2014, he
promised to electrify the entire nation. Every village in India now has
at least partial access to electricity, but 30 million households
remain without it. President Modi promises to electrify these
remaining households by April 2019 through a combination of
solar microgrids as well as hooking them up to the national grid.
Many communities are forming Village Electric Committees to
oversee the operation of these solar facilities.
Achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 will not only
create millions of job opportunities, but also prevent nearly 2 million
premature deaths each year caused by polluted air in households
using primitive means to generate electricity. Reducing the use of
kerosene, firewood and other biomass fuels for cooking, heat and
light will also contribute to the U.N.'s goal of significantly reducing
carbon-dioxide emissions. 
Source: The Cooperative Society Project, thecooperativesociety.org.
January 2019 | Cooperative Living | 27
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Cooperative Living January 2019

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