Ideas to Action:

Independent research for global prosperity

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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
Publication
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
Publication
Energy in Africa Promotes US Economic and Security Interests
Todd Moss


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April 7, 2017
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March 30, 2017
Blog Post
We Don’t Want Kinky Energy Either
Todd Moss and Gailyn Portelance

Energy wonks will gather in New York City on April 3 for the third annual Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) forum to discuss progress on SDG7, whose aim is “By 2030, [to] ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.” The target is wonderful. The details are where this gets a little kinky.

March 17, 2017
Blog Post
Does the World Bank RISE to the Challenge of Measuring...
Todd Moss and Gailyn Portelance

The World Bank recently released a "global scorecard for policymakers" called the Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE). Here are a few of our takeaways from an initial read of the energy access section.

March 1, 2017
Blog Post
Can We Have Our Forests and Burn Them Too?
Frances Seymour

The biomass energy industry, US Senators, and the FAO would have you think that burning wood to produce electricity is a good idea for the climate. Think again.

February 15, 2017
Blog Post
A Corporate Giant’s Role in Reducing Climate Change and...
Frances Seymour

Unilever is the world’s single largest end-user of palm oil, purchasing nearly 3 percent of global palm oil production. Whilst we can not do everything alone , with this scale comes responsibility—to make sure that our supply chains are not driving tropical deforestation, and to tackle endemic social issues such as forced labour and the protection of indigenous people.

January 10, 2017
Blog Post
Improving Energy Access: What the US Did in Eight Years,...
Todd Moss and Gailyn Portelance

In the twelve months to June 2016, nearly 1.3 million Kenyan households were connected to the grid for the first time. This impressive feat pushed Kenya’s national electricity connectivity rate to 55 percent from just 27 percent in 2013, one of the fastest connection increases recorded in the region. These latest connections illustrate the Kenyan government’s commitment to a goal of achieving universal energy access by 2020.

January 6, 2017
Publication
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.

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