Overview

Energy is essential for development, most notably for the 1.6 billion people who lack access to modern energy services and the 2.3 billion people relying on traditional biomass for their basic energy needs for cooking and heating.

 

Beyond direct uses of energy such as lighting, communication, motive power and cooking, modern energy services provide indirect benefits through economic development, employment, and strengthening communities all of which are fundamental keys towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

 

For example, renewable energy can help to:

• Reduce the millions of premature deaths that come as a result of indoor air pollution by introducing efficient cooking stoves and cleaner-burning substitute fuels.
• Provide lighting for schools and homes so that adults and children alike may read beyond daylight hours
• Reduce the amount of time spent collecting fuelwood, thus freeing up a household’s time to spend on many other productive uses.

 A brief discussion of the  energy challenges faced by developing countries.

 

An overview of the Renewable Energy scale up  strategy and  action plan .

 

Featured Publications

• Improving Lives: World Bank Group Progress in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Fiscal Year 2006.  Year-end status report highlights development outcomes and positive changes in peoples’ lives through use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
• A Plan of Action for Renewable Energy. Year-end status report highlights the achievements over the past year on the Plan of Action for Renewable Energy. September 2005.
• World Bank Group Progress on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: 1990–2004. This is the first report since the WBG committed to reporting its annual performance in supporting RE and EE, and describes the WBG’s support for RE and EE from 1990 to 2004.
• Renewable Energy for Development, The Role of the World Bank Group. This report discusses the WBG's work in RE and EE through a series of case studies and examples of lessons learned.
• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Financing and Policy Network Forum. This report documents the proceedings of an international forum and scoping study of a Financing and Policy Network for Scaling-Up Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries.

Renewable Energy Toolkit

• REToolKit provides essential tools to assist Bank task managers and country counterparts in improving their design and implementation of renewable energy projects.