Sustainable Energy for All: Promoting Access to Electricity Generation and Transmission in Developing Countries
by: Crystal Mae N. Areglado
Introduction
The world’s global energy target set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030 is said to remain elusive due to deficits in access to electricity in other areas; despite reports about the tremendous progress in energy access globally in the previous years [1] [5]. This sustainable development goal specifically no. 7 is established with the aim to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all people. The mentioned global concern can only be possible to be achieved when rectified with consistent and strategic efforts [2] [4].
Background
According to the data released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the number of population globally in both Rural and Urban areas that still have no access of electricity is around 733.4 million in year 2020. [3]
Countries with No Access of Electricity (Both Rural and Urban), Year 2020
In further breakdown of this number of population with No Access of electricity, it revealed that most of the African countries had the highest number of areas that lacked electrification. Based on the data, Sub-Saharan Africa has an estimation of 439.9 million people in its Rural Areas that still have no access to electricity which is lesser compared to its Urban Areas, but alarmingly still high with 99 million of people recorded. To surpass this global concern, these countries must be introduced and encouraged to scale up on the sustainable solutions to acquire fast and sustainable energy access [3].
Countries with No Access of Electricity (Rural Areas) Year 2020
Countries with No Access of Electricity (Urban Areas) Year 2020
Apart from Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southern Asia is ranked second with the highest number of people lacking access to electricity in both Urban and Rural areas, with over 78.3 million, followed by Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 42.6 million, Western Asia and Northern Africa with 31.5 million, Latin America and the Caribbean with 9.7 million, and Oceania with 3.9 million [3].
No. Of Population in Countries with No Access of Electricity (Urban & Rural) Year 2020
These graphs clearly demonstrated that there are still a lot of regions all over the world that exist without access to electricity.
Challenges in Achieving Universal Energy Access
People who still lack electrical services are either remote, underprivileged, or both. Poor neighborhoods are the ones that lack services the most specifically in urban settings. Although these numbers of population can be easy to manage, some of these are informal settlers where many of these people live anywhere and it would be difficult to have a permanent infrastructure for them and also it can be hard to provide for these distributed populations even with off-grid solutions. Another thing to consider is when planned to extending the main grid is the expenses in which this is too expensive and unreachable to remote household owners [12] [13]
One of the largest challenges to expanding grid-based electricity is a lack of adequate power generation capacity. Other major obstacles include inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure, high costs of supply to remote regions, and simply a lack of affordable electricity [11]. Poor policies, insufficient controls, a lack of institutional support, a lack of planning, a lack of funding for off-grid companies, and affordability for lower-income households are the main hurdles to off-grid electrification, including small grids. [11]
Sustainable Solutions
In achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for energy access, a numerous methods is present today to acquire this objective.This will only not help the current people to have access on electricity but also will create a more sustainable, abundant and a safer environment for next generations to come [8] [10]. According to Brundtland's report, sustainable development is defined as “To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. It advocated the idea of “sustainable growth”. Therefore, sustainable solutions are harnessing energy that is produced from resources that can sustain present operations without endangering the energy needs or climate of future generations [6].
Distribution of Electricity Generation in year 2021
Based on the recent statistics on the Distribution of the Electricity Generation in the world, it is clear that sources from sustainable energy are existing and used by different places already.
Importance of Sustainable Energy
Using sustainable power has both economic and environmental benefits. It can generate electricity that doesn’t emit greenhouse gases like in fossil fuels, it cuts efficiently some forms of air pollution. Can lower reliance on imported fuels and diversifying the energy supply. Fostering economic growth and employment in industries like manufacturing, installation, and others [10].
Coal, nuclear, and other non-renewable power facilities produce the majority of the electricity we consume. Our environment suffers greatly as a result of the production of energy from these resources, which causes pollution of our air, land, and water. With fewer negative impacts on the environment, power can be generated using sustainable solutions. Renewable energy sources can be used to generate electricity without releasing CO2, the main contributor to global climate change [11] [12].
Countries that Uses Sustainable Energy
Here are some countries that mainly use sustainable energy as their source of electricity.
CHINA - China is evidently a veritable green power in present times. It is the greatest producer of wind and solar energy, as well as the largest local and international investor in renewable energy, and it leads the globe in terms of production figures. [14]
US - In the United States, around 20% of the electricity is produced by renewable energy, and this number continues to rise. The U.S. electricity system is anticipated to receive more than 60% of its utility-scale generating capacity from solar and wind in 2022 (46% from solar and 17% from wind) [15].
BRAZIL - In 2020, hydropower supplied 66% of Brazil's electrical demand, indicating the country's heavy reliance on the resource. The country's electricity production from wind and solar sources accounted for 11% of it in 2020, following recent years of rapid growth in both sectors. The percentage of biomass was 8%. Nuclear power generated 2% of the nation's electricity, with fossil fuel-fired plants contributing another 12% [9].
Conclusion
Sustainable energy is a key component of sustainability and a crucial factor in the growth and activity of humans. Sustainable energy is significant due to the wide-ranging and expanding nature of energy usage, the various negative environmental impacts associated with energy systems, and the significance of energy to living standards and economic development. It will lessen the impact of other energy sources that have long term detrimental impacts on our community and to the people in many ways [7] [13].
References
[2] https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7
[3] https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/
[4]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323998727000073
[7]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822183/#CIT1
[9]https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=49436
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