Access to Energy

Several dozen rural settlements in India, cut off from the nationwide electricity network, operate village-scale power grids using solar and wind power. Between 2002 and 2004 in China, about 250,000 households were connected to such "mini-grids" that use solar photovoltaic or solar/wind hybrid systems in rural townships.

On Cebu Island in the Philippines, more than 1,200 people in 10 rural villages have access to treated drinking water thanks to a solar-powered water pump. There are now more that 50,000 water pumps worldwide powered by photovoltaic solar power; 4,000 were recently installed in rural villages in India and another 1,000 in western Africa.

In Chile, a small electrical system using wind and diesel power on the small island of Isla Tac has cut power costs by up to 90 percent for residents who no longer have to rely on candles, generators, batteries, and kerosene lanterns.

These are just a few examples of isolated areas that have gained access to energy through the use of renewable resources - wind and solar power, and small hydroelectric systems, among others. The International Energy Agency estimates that 1.6 billion people don't have access to electricity. In developing countries, this is more than an annoyance of not being able to watch a TV or plug in the computer. It's a life and death situation.

For 2.4 billion people, no access to energy means having to rely on wood, dung and other agricultural or forest wastes for cooking and heating fuel. For instance, households in sub-Sahara Africa burn 1,400 pounds of wood and charcoal per person every year, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Network.

The World Health Organization estimates 1.6 million people - most frequently women and children -- die prematurely every year from the harmful health effects of indoor smoke emitted by these fuels. It also means reduced access to education for young girls who must spend their time gathering wood for fires.

Lack of modern energy sources can also mean increased difficulty in pumping clean water for drinking and the inability to refrigerate food and vaccines.

The United Nations Development Programme says access to clean fuels, mechanical power and electricity is necessary for economical productivity and the ultimate alleviation of poverty. Modern energy sources are necessary to process foods, open new forms of non-farm employment and improve productivity, widen access to education and improve health.

Until recently, getting electricity to these outlying communities in the developing world has been a challenge. Many nations don't have a robust power-grid system like the US, and the cost of building large power plants and installing networks of power lines is prohibitive.

That's where individual or small-grid systems using renewable energy come into play. The cost of wind and solar power systems have dropped significantly as their efficiency has increased. A 50-watt photovoltaic solar system, for example, can support up to five lights, a TV, and radio at a cost of $500; an array of wind turbines can power an entire village. Such systems are made more affordable through micro-financing by partnerships between international aid agencies, non-government organizations, and private companies.

One of these funding resources is the Global Village Energy Partnership (launched by the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development and partially funded by the US), which is responsible for giving 12.9 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America access to energy since 2002.

Coal is another emitter of carbon dioxide, one of the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases, and developing nations often rely on coal for power. The expanding economy of China uses coal to generate three-quarters of its power. But China has also entered the list of the world's top 10 nations to embrace wind power. China's Center for Renewable Energy Development proposes 6,000 megawatts of wind power energy by 2010; compare that with 764 megawatts of wind power employed now in China and 47,000 megawatts worldwide.

The UNDP is encouraging other developing nations to follow this route of access to renewable energy as it aims for its more important Millennium Development Goal, to reduce by half the proportion of people living in poverty by the year 2015.