Industry Agenda The Future of Electricity in Fast-Growing Economies

The report argues that fast-growing economies must shift from a mindset of acquiring commodity fuels to attracting large-scale capital to meet rising electricity demand. It estimates that non-OECD countries will need to invest $13 trillion between 2015 and 2040, doubling their annual investment to $495 billion. To achieve this, the report proposes eight best-practice recommendations focusing on efficient policy roadmaps, integrated value chain development, technology-agnostic regulation, and the use of public-private partnerships. The document provides detailed case studies on India and Mexico, highlighting their specific needs in distribution viability, fuel supply, and regulatory reform.

• Non-OECD countries are projected to require a total of $13 trillion in electricity investment between 2015 and 2040 to meet energy policy objectives and growing demand, which involves doubling annual investments from approximately $240 billion to $495 billion.
• Investment in transmission and distribution (T&D) in non-OECD markets is expected to reach $5.8 trillion, significantly exceeding the $2.5 trillion projected for OECD countries.
• Historically, the public sector has provided 60% to 70% of electricity infrastructure investment in non-OECD markets, but the scale of future needs will require a shift toward private sector funding.
• Non-OECD countries are expected to add 34% more non-hydro renewable capacity than OECD countries between 2015 and 2040, totaling approximately 1.7 terawatts.
• India's government has set a target to deploy 100 GW of solar generation by 2022, with the Ministry of Finance estimating a need for $160 billion in renewables investments over five years.
• Mexico plans to invest $146 billion in its electricity system by 2029, allocating $113 billion to generation (primarily natural gas and renewables) and $33 billion to strengthen T&D networks.
• Brazil's 'Light for All' programme in the 2000s connected 3 million households, increasing rural connection rates from 73% in 2002 to 97% by 2012 through a $7 billion investment in grid expansion.
• China's integrated energy strategy led to the addition of 911 GW in generation between 2004 and 2014, including 175 GW of hydro and 151 GW of renewables, while increasing electricity access to 100% by 2012.
• The report recommends that regulators adopt technology-agnostic processes and carbon pricing to create a level playing field, citing Chile's capacity auctions where renewables won bids 7% below conventional generators.
• Digital technologies are identified as a means to reduce operating costs and emissions; for example, Kenya is using software to operate wind farms that are expected to generate 20% more output on average.

APA

World Economic Forum (2016). Industry Agenda The Future of Electricity in Fast-Growing Economies. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Electricity_2016.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Industry Agenda The Future of Electricity in Fast-Growing Economies. 2016. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Electricity_2016.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Industry Agenda The Future of Electricity in Fast-Growing Economies |date=January 2016 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Electricity_2016.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2016industry, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Industry Agenda The Future of Electricity in Fast-Growing Economies}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2016}, month = jan, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Electricity_2016.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }