Ideas to Action:

Independent research for global prosperity

power lines

Energy

To become prosperous and globally competitive, emerging economies require reliable, affordable, and abundant energy for industry and households

Energy is essential for economic growth and the basis of modern lifestyles, yet more than a billion people worldwide live without access to electricity. For millions who may have some access, power is too unreliable or expensive to achieve real prosperity. Boosting generation and expanding access are top priorities for African governments and their partners, including through the US Power Africa Initiative and the Electrify Africa Act. CGD research seeks to redefine what the world means by “modern energy” and to suggest ways to provide energy at scale for development to flourish.

Featured Work

April 12, 2016
Publications
More Than a Lightbulb: Five Recommendations to Make...
Energy Access Targets Working Group
February 18, 2014
Blog Post
Seven Graphics that Explain Energy Poverty and How the US...
Todd Moss and Madeleine Gleave
November 1, 2017
Publications
Energy in Africa Promotes US Economic and Security Interests
Todd Moss


Get Energy Updates

CGD experts offer timely research, analysis, and policy ideas for the world’s emerging development challenges. Sign up today to get the latest development updates from CGD!

SUBSCRIBE

Related Experts

Related Working Groups

Energy Access Targets Working Group

Related Energy Content

January 6, 2017
Publications
Of Sun Gods and Solar Energy
Kartikeya Singh

My family’s ancestral home in the village of Jakhan in India’s western state of Rajasthan exemplifies the challenges and opportunities of facilitating energy access in India. Though Rajasthan is perhaps the most densely populated desert on the planet, near Jakhan the population is spread more thinly, and electrification has been slow in coming. The dreams of people such as my grandparents, who wished to see central electricity access arrive at their doorstep, were unfortunately not met in time. My grandfather filed an application to have a grid connection reach his home in the 1970s. The connection came three decades after his passing. Today, over 300 million people still lack access to reliable centralized electricity in this nation of 1.2 billion people.

December 1, 2016
Blog Post
Reducing Energy Poverty: Money Isn’t the Problem, But...
William Savedoff

Aid agencies are investing more in energy projects than ever before, but will they succeed? Not if they ignore the key obstacle to progress: governments that choose the status quo over serious reforms.

November 17, 2016
Blog Post
To Scale or Not to Scale? Lessons from India’s Off-Grid...
Kartikeya Singh

Businesses working at the intersection of development and increasing shared value constantly find themselves navigating the question of whether or not they are having an impact. Impact, in this scenario, is defined by scale in number of customers (or beneficiaries) reached. Though the language may be fuzzy and the impact hard to measure, the question for any business working with those at the bottom of (or near the bottom of) the pyramid remains: to scale or not to scale?

November 14, 2016
Blog Post
Why the New White House Should Love Power Africa
Todd Moss

We know very little about what a Trump administration will do about longstanding US efforts to combat global hunger, disease, and poverty. But here are five reasons Power Africa should appeal to a new White House team presumably focused on cutting waste and promoting business.

November 15, 2016
Publications
Cash on Delivery Aid for Energy
William Savedoff

Energy is critical to human welfare, yet energy consumption in developing countries is extremely low relative to modern living standards. Conventional aid programs have invested in energy production with some success but also with many notable failures. This paper discusses how a distinctive approach to development aid—disbursing funds against improved outcomes—could make aid more effective in the energy sector. In particular, it explores the use of Cash on Delivery Aid (COD Aid) to resolve perennial difficulties encountered by conventional aid programs in energy sector development.

October 27, 2016
Blog Post
A Report Card for Power Africa—and How the Next President...
Todd Moss and Gailyn Portelance

Power Africa has barely gotten started and now faces a whole new administration, with its own ideas and its own priorities. The biggest risk to Power Africa is loss of momentum. As a progress check, an early analysis of the transactions pipeline, and input to the next White House, CGD assessed Power Africa along eight dimensions. Here’s a summary.

October 26, 2016
Publications
Grading Power Africa
Todd Moss

Power Africa has the potential to be transformative for millions of poor people and be the single biggest legacy in Africa for President Barack Obama. Observers now have roughly three years to reflect on the initiative: on what’s progressing well, what’s not, and where future risks may lie. While it is still too early to provide a complete analysis of outcomes, this report card provides a timely assessment at the close of this administration and an input to the next one. While the judgments of Power Africa are largely positive, the coming months will be crucial to keeping the effort on a positive trajectory.

October 24, 2016
Blog Post
A Win for India is a Win for the World: Why the United...
Kartikeya Singh and Jennifer Richmond

The Obama Administration has left an indelible impact on domestic energy policy and global climate policy. Policies driving technological innovation—in what critics have dubbed the “war on coal”—are helping the United States transition its energy system to one that is cleaner and more efficient. While the administration touts the growth of clean energy deployment in the United States at international fora, it should not limit its engagement with foreign countries on fossil energy—especially when the climate gains could be large. 

Pages