Library >> Current Articles on Renewable Energy Resources and Transmission >> Development Issues

Articles on Development Issues

• Chu Introduces Climate REDI Program At Copenhagen Conference
  Dec 15, 2009 - Solar Industry
  
  On behalf of President Obama, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced the launch of the Renewables and Efficiency Deployment Initiative (Climate REDI), a new initiative designed to promote clean energy technologies in developing countries.
  

• UN pushes electricity, fuels lack in climate talks
  Nov 23, 2009 - John Heilprin - Associated Press
  
  Development officials say almost half the world's population lacks modern fuels to cook or heat or any electricity, and insist negotiators must address that "energy poverty" as part of any global climate pact next month in Denmark.
  
  
• Gorillas versus charcoal update: Biomass project reaches halfway point
  Nov 4, 2009 - John Platt - Scitific American
  
  What do comic books, a reggae band and alternative fuels have in common? They are all part of a project to help save critically endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
  
  
• KYOCERA Donates Solar Power Generating Systems to Schools in Uganda
  Oct 8, 2009 - Business Wire
  
  Kyocera Corporation (President: Tetsuo Kuba)(NYSE:KYO)(TOKYO:6971) announced today that it is donating and installing solar power generating systems to 15 schools in the Republic of Uganda over the next five years.
  
  
• A place in society
  Sep 25th 2009 - The Economist
  
  You might suppose that financial innovation had done enough damage. But bankers, investors and philanthropists believe it can help the world’s poor
  
  
• 'Climate Smart' World Within Reach, says World Bank
  Sept 16, 2009 - M2 Presswire
  
  Developing countries can shift to lower-carbon paths while promoting development and reducing poverty, but this depends on financial and technical assistance from high-income countries, says a new World Bank report released today. High-income countries also need to act quickly to reduce their carbon footprints and boost development of alternative energy sources to help tackle the problem of climate change.
  
  
• Developing World's Energy Needs Set Stage for Fight
  Sep 8, 2009 - Emily Wax - Washington Post Foreign Service
  
  Developing nations' urgent need for more energy has become a central issue this year as developed countries -- including the United States -- push for a global reduction in carbon emissions ahead of a climate change conference scheduled for December in Copenhagen.
  
  
• Lush land dries up, withering Kenya's hopes
  Sept 7, 2009 - Jeffrey Gettleman - The New York Times
  
  The sun somehow feels closer here, more intense, more personal. As Philip Lolua waits under a tree for a scoop of food, heat waves dance up from the desert floor, blurring the dead animal carcasses sprawled in front of him.
  
  
• Biogas project in Malawi leads to other benefits
  Sep 1, 2009 - M.G.G. Chagunda, D.J. Roberts, M.L. Chitawo and V. Kasulo - Renewable Energy Focus.Com
  
  A small-scale underground biogas plant in Malawi that has recently been established in an effort to mitigate climate change can also improve food security and livelihoods in rural Malawi, if well tapped. Mizeck Chagunda, geneticist and expert in livestock, agriculture and environment, explains.
  
  
• U.N. reports on developing nations' energy needs
  Sep 1, 2009 - Neil MacFarquhar - The New York Times
  
  It will cost between $500 billion and $600 billion every year for the next 10 years to allow developing nations to grow using renewable energy resources, instead of relying on dirty fuels that worsen global warming, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.
  
  
• UN: Poor nations need $600B for climate change
  Sep 1 , 2009 - Eliane Engeler - Associated Press
  
  Developing countries need between $500 billion and $600 billion a year from rich nations to adapt to climate change and make sure their economies grow, a U.N. report concluded Tuesday.
  
  
• Kenyans get solar-powered cell phone
  Aug 21, 2009 - UPI
  
  A solar phone that recharges even on cloudy days is expected to be a hit in Kenya, where electricity is scarce, Safaricom officials said.
  
  
• The Millennium Development Goals Report 2009
  Aug, 2009 - United Nations
  
  This report is based on a master set of data that has been compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators led by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress towards the MDGs. The Group comprises representatives of the international organizations whose activities include the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs, as reflected in the list below. A number of national statisticians and outside expert advisers also contributed.
  
  
• Off-grid PV back on the map with developing countries
  July 9, 2009 - Renewable Energy Focus.com
  
  Off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) power has taken a back-seat in talk about solar power in recent years despite once holding 90% of the total installed capacity worldwide. However, as the thirst for energy increases in regions like Africa, Asia or Latin America, off-grid solar PV energy is experiencing a come-back.
  
  
• Powering Developing Countries
  May 19, 2009 - News Release - EnergyBiz Magazine
  
  Energy is inextricably linked to today's key global challenges - poverty alleviation, climate change and food security. The development of a sustainable, long-term solution to the world's energy needs has itself become a defining issue of our time. In a guest commentary, UNIDO general-director Kandeh K. Yumkella, explores these and other global trends. His piece is featured in the current issue of EnergyBiz magazine.
  
  
• Gorillas vs. charcoal: Biomass to the rescue
  Apr 23, 2009 - Scientific American (sciam.com)
  
  Every day, Virunga National Park gets a little bit smaller. The forest, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is one of the last homes of the majestic mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei). It is also the main source of energy—in the form of wood—for the millions of people who live in areas surrounding the park, only 6 percent of whom have access to electricity.
  
  
• Microfinance Institutions Begin to Incorporate Climate Change in Development Strategies
  Apr 14, 2009 - Robert Kropp - SocialFunds.com
  
  Report from CGAP finds that MFIs are well-positioned to contribute to energy efficiency in developing countries, but recommends shift in priorities from loans to financial services that include savings.
  
  
• UN warns of widespread water shortages
  Mar 12, 2009 - Martin Mittelstaedt - The Globe and Mail
  
  Constantly rising demand for a finite resource raises risk of political upheaval and economic stagnation over next 20 years, report says
  
  
• Delivering Green Hydroelectric Power-to-Go in Rwanda
  Nov 25, 2008 - Larry Greenemeier
  
  Dartmouth students bring light to once-dark homes in a remote Rwandan village
  
  
• World's Poor Need Electricity & Food -- Not Laptops, Gates Tells Conference
  Nov 5, 2000 - The Observer
  
  Microsoft boss Bill Gates has renounced the machine that has made him the world's richest man. In a startling proclamation, Gates has announced that computers can do little to solve the planet's gravest social ills.
  

Related GENI Resources

Definition Solar Energy

Renewable Energy Resource Maps

National Energy Grid Maps

GENI Transmission Library

Links

IREC Connecting to the Grid (Interstate Renewable Energy Council)

CIGRE: International Congress on Large High-Voltage Electric Systems

IEEE/PES International Practices Committee panel sessions