THE NEW WORLD IN NEW ENERGY
How the U.S. is ceding a huge energy advantage to the developing world
Jeff Spross, September 11, 2015 (The Week)
“…While the link between energy consumption and economic growth isweakening, at least in the developed world, it's long been the case that global poverty reduction cannot happen without massively increasing energy consumption per person. And the assumption has been that ‘massively increasing energy consumption’ meant burning more fossil fuels…But that rests on the further assumption that energy consumption in the developing world will follow the same industrial pattern as in the West: i.e. the creation of enormous electrical grids linked to centralized, fossil fuel-powered energy plants. But renewable energy undercuts this logic: Solar, in particular, can be deployed on individual rooftops, or set up in town squares for a grid that does not extend beyond the local community. Even wind farms can be set up so they power local grids, with no need for any wider-ranging infrastructure to bring in a regular supply of fossil fuels…[W]ell over a billion people across Africa and South Asia have no access to a traditional grid system. For them, energy systems that can be deployed on a local, even house-to-house scale — and that require no outside fuel source other than wind or sunshine — are a godsend.” click here for more
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