For millions of people around the world, the energy transition means something very different from replacing one electricity source with another.
It can mean getting reliable electricity for the first time.
Homes, schools, farms, health clinics and small businesses in many developing regions still face unreliable electricity supplies or limited access to modern energy services.
At the same time, many of these countries have excellent solar, wind, hydro and other renewable resources.
That creates an enormous opportunity.
Instead of simply copying the large centralised energy systems built by wealthier countries over the past century, some communities can use newer technologies to build cleaner, smaller and more flexible energy systems.
But the transition is far from simple.
Energy Access Is About More Than Electricity
It is easy to think of energy access as whether a house has a power line connected to it.
The reality is more complicated.
Electricity needs to be reliable enough to be useful and affordable enough for people to actually use it.
A connection that only provides electricity occasionally cannot reliably run a business, refrigerate food or medicine, operate irrigation equipment or keep a school connected to the internet.
Energy access also includes clean ways to cook and heat homes.
In many regions, households still depend on traditional fuels for cooking, often burned indoors or in poorly ventilated spaces.
Improving energy access therefore involves electricity, reliability, affordability and cleaner household energy.
Solar Can Reach Places the Grid Cannot
One of solar energy’s greatest advantages is its flexibility.
A huge solar farm can supply electricity to a national grid.
But a few solar panels can also provide electricity to a single building.
That makes solar particularly useful in remote areas where extending conventional power lines may be difficult or expensive.
A small solar system combined with a battery can provide lighting, phone charging and electricity for basic appliances.
Larger systems can power schools, clinics, water pumps and businesses.
This doesn’t mean every remote community should operate independently forever.
But decentralised solar can provide useful electricity without waiting years for a major transmission network to arrive.
Solar Microgrids Can Power Entire Communities
A microgrid takes the idea further.
Instead of every building having its own completely separate energy system, a local network can supply electricity to multiple homes and businesses.
A renewable microgrid might combine solar panels, batteries and other generation.
During sunny periods, solar electricity can power the community while also charging batteries.
Stored energy can then help supply electricity after sunset.
Some microgrids can eventually connect to a larger national grid if it expands into the area.
Others may remain independent.
For remote communities, islands and regions with weak electricity infrastructure, microgrids can provide an alternative to relying entirely on diesel generators and transported fuel.
Reliable Electricity Can Transform Health Care
Electricity is particularly important in health facilities.
Clinics need lighting.
Vaccines and some medicines require refrigeration.
Medical equipment needs dependable power.
Communication systems allow health workers to contact larger hospitals and access information.
Even something as basic as providing safe treatment after sunset becomes more difficult without reliable electricity.
Solar systems with battery storage can help provide power in locations where the main grid is unreliable or unavailable.
The technology doesn’t replace doctors, medicines or good health infrastructure.
But reliable energy makes many essential health services possible.
Electricity Can Change Education Too
The effects of electricity extend into classrooms.
Lighting allows schools and students to operate beyond daylight hours.
Computers and internet access can provide educational resources that would otherwise be difficult to reach.
Electricity can also power fans or cooling in hot climates and provide reliable charging for digital equipment.
For boarding schools and remote educational facilities, renewable systems can reduce dependence on generators and fuel deliveries.
Again, clean energy isn’t an education policy by itself.
But it can provide some of the infrastructure that modern education increasingly depends on.
Renewable Energy Can Support Farms and Small Businesses
Electricity can also become a tool for earning income.
Farmers may use solar-powered pumps for irrigation or water supply.
Electricity can operate refrigeration that reduces food spoilage.
Small businesses can run tools, machinery, lighting and communication equipment.
Cold storage can help farmers keep produce fresh for longer rather than being forced to sell immediately after harvest.
Reliable electricity can also make it easier for businesses to operate in communities where frequent outages previously interrupted work.
This is why energy access and economic development are closely connected.
Electricity is not simply something households consume.
It can also help people produce, preserve, communicate and trade.
Clean Cooking Remains an Important Energy Challenge
Electricity receives much of the attention in clean-energy discussions, but cooking is another major issue.
Traditional cooking fuels can include wood, charcoal and other solid fuels.
When these are burned in inefficient stoves or poorly ventilated spaces, smoke can create serious indoor air pollution.
Collecting fuel can also require considerable time and physical effort.
Cleaner cooking solutions vary according to local circumstances.
They can include electric cooking, improved stoves, biogas and other cleaner fuels and technologies.
There isn’t one solution that suits every community.
Affordability, local cooking practices, electricity reliability and fuel availability all matter.
A technology that people cannot afford or that doesn’t suit the way they cook is unlikely to succeed simply because it looks good on paper.
Renewable Energy Can Reduce Dependence on Imported Fuel
Some developing economies spend substantial amounts importing oil, gas or other fuels.
This can leave them exposed to international price changes and supply disruptions.
Countries with strong domestic solar, wind, hydro or geothermal resources may be able to produce a larger share of their energy locally.
That doesn’t eliminate every form of import dependence.
Solar panels, batteries, turbines and electrical equipment may themselves be imported.
But renewable electricity has an important characteristic once installed: sunlight and wind don’t need to be purchased from another country.
Developing local renewable resources can therefore have economic as well as environmental value.
The Biggest Barrier Is Often Finance
Having excellent renewable resources doesn’t automatically mean projects will be built.
Finance can be one of the largest obstacles.
Renewable projects often require substantial investment upfront, even though their fuel costs later may be very low.
Borrowing money can be much more expensive in some developing economies than in wealthier countries.
Investors may also perceive greater political, currency or financial risk.
This creates an unfortunate situation.
A country may have abundant sunshine and a strong need for electricity, yet face higher financing costs for a solar project than a wealthier country with less sunshine.
International development finance, guarantees and carefully designed investment programs can help reduce some of these barriers.
But financing remains one of the most important challenges facing global clean-energy development.
Electricity Grids Still Matter
Small solar systems and microgrids can do remarkable things, but large electricity networks remain important.
Growing cities, industries, hospitals, transport systems and businesses require substantial amounts of reliable power.
Many developing countries therefore need to expand and modernise electricity grids at the same time as they build renewable generation.
Transmission lines are needed to connect good renewable resources with population centres.
Local distribution networks need upgrading.
Grid operators need better systems for balancing changing electricity supply and demand.
The less glamorous parts of the energy system — poles, wires, transformers and substations — can be just as important as the solar panels and wind turbines.
Maintenance Matters as Much as Installation
A renewable-energy project isn’t successful simply because it has been installed.
Equipment needs to keep working.
Batteries eventually need replacing.
Inverters can fail.
Solar panels need inspection.
Electrical systems require maintenance.
If spare parts, trained technicians and ongoing funding aren’t available, even a well-designed project can eventually stop operating.
This is why local skills and training matter.
Projects are more resilient when communities have access to people who understand the equipment and can maintain it.
Long-term planning is less exciting than cutting a ribbon at a new solar project.
But it is essential.
Local Participation Can Improve Projects
Energy systems work best when they meet the needs of the people who use them.
A project designed thousands of kilometres away may overlook local realities.
When will electricity be most needed?
What can households afford?
Which businesses could benefit?
Who will maintain the equipment?
How will customers pay for electricity?
Does the technology fit local conditions?
Community involvement can help answer these questions before expensive infrastructure is installed.
It can also create local employment and build trust in projects.
Renewable technology may be global.
Successful energy systems are still local.
Developing Countries Don’t All Face the Same Challenges
The term “developing countries” covers an enormous range of places.
A rapidly growing industrial economy has very different energy needs from a remote rural community.
An island nation may depend heavily on imported fuel.
A sunny inland country may have enormous solar potential.
A mountainous region may have hydropower resources, while volcanic areas may have access to geothermal energy.
Some countries already have extensive electricity networks.
Others still have large populations without reliable access.
There is therefore no single clean-energy pathway that applies everywhere.
Solutions need to match local geography, resources, economics and social conditions.
A Chance to Build Energy Systems Differently
Wealthier countries built much of their energy infrastructure during an era dominated by large fossil-fuel power stations and one-way electricity networks.
Countries expanding their electricity systems today have access to technologies that barely existed commercially a few decades ago.
Cheap solar modules, modern batteries, smart meters, microgrids and digital payment systems create new possibilities.
In some circumstances, countries may be able to skip parts of the traditional development path.
The comparison is sometimes made with telecommunications.
Many regions didn’t need to build enormous landline telephone networks before gaining widespread access to mobile phones.
Energy is more complicated because electricity infrastructure has very different physical requirements.
But decentralised renewable technologies offer a similar possibility in some locations: useful services can sometimes arrive without waiting for every piece of conventional infrastructure to be built first.
Clean Energy Is About Opportunity as Well as Emissions
The clean-energy transition is often framed as a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
For developing countries, that is only part of the story.
Reliable clean electricity can also support health care, education, businesses, agriculture, communications and economic development.
The challenges are substantial.
Projects need finance. Electricity networks need investment. Equipment needs maintenance. Communities need affordable energy, not simply new technology.
But the opportunities are equally significant.
Renewable energy can reach places traditional grids struggle to serve, reduce dependence on imported fuels and provide communities with new ways to generate electricity locally.
For millions of people, the most important clean-energy breakthrough may not be a futuristic invention.
It may simply be reliable electricity arriving where it was never reliable before.
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