The Future Electricity Grid

The report examines the global growth of non-hydro renewables and the specific challenges this poses for developing nations. It identifies five market trends driving this growth and three primary challenges—technology/infrastructure, institutional arrangements, and pricing/equity—that regulators and utilities must address to transition to a modern grid.

• Non-hydro renewable energy has experienced significant global growth over the last ten years, increasing six-fold from 85 to 657 gigawatts (GW).
• The growth of renewable energy is driven by five primary market trends: cost improvements and growth in RE sources, advancements in energy efficiency and new technologies, instability in fossil-fuel prices and supply, increased investor and government support, and the emergence of new entities providing electricity generation.
• Decision-makers face three core challenges in developing a future grid: managing the physical constraints and complexities of intermittent technologies and distributed generation; adapting institutional models as the centralized utility approach is challenged by self-generation; and addressing equity and pricing concerns regarding tariffs and cost burdens.
• The transition to a future grid is influenced by diverse objectives including climate change mitigation, energy security, public health, environmental protection, and socio-economic development.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). The Future Electricity Grid. https://www.wri.org/research/future-electricity-grid

Chicago

World Resources Institute. The Future Electricity Grid. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/future-electricity-grid.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=The Future Electricity Grid |url=https://www.wri.org/research/future-electricity-grid |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendfuture, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{The Future Electricity Grid}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/future-electricity-grid}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }