Clean Energy Access in Developing Countries

The document argues that achieving universal electricity access by 2030 requires a significant shift toward distributed renewable energy, as grid extension is often not cost-effective for rural, low-income areas. It highlights that over 50 percent of new connections must be distributed solutions, with 90 percent of those being renewable. To facilitate this, the brief recommends creating platforms for stakeholder input in policy decision-making and implementing regulatory reforms in the financial sector to unlock domestic capital.

• Achieving universal electricity access by 2030 will depend heavily on distributed energy solutions, which the International Energy Agency estimates will account for more than 50 percent of new connections, with over 90 percent of those utilizing renewable energy sources.
• Extending the traditional electrical grid is not considered a cost-effective method for providing electricity to many low-income and rural areas, where 1.3 billion people currently lack access.
• The document proposes two primary recommendations to scale clean energy access: establishing platforms for enterprises and stakeholders to influence energy policy and regulation, and pursuing targeted regulatory and policy reforms within the financial sector to release domestic capital.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Clean Energy Access in Developing Countries. https://www.wri.org/research/clean-energy-access-developing-countries

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Clean Energy Access in Developing Countries. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/clean-energy-access-developing-countries.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Clean Energy Access in Developing Countries |url=https://www.wri.org/research/clean-energy-access-developing-countries |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendclean, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Clean Energy Access in Developing Countries}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/clean-energy-access-developing-countries}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }