U.N. Secretary-General: Renewables Can End Energy Poverty

[kristopher]

U.N. Secretary-General: Renewables Can End Energy Poverty

By Steve Leone, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
August 25, 2011

New Hampshire, USA -- United Nation's Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made renewable energy and its ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity a central theme during his visit to Colorado on Wednesday.

With the Rockies as his backdrop, Ban toured the National Renewable Energy Laborary in Golden, where he inspected the flexible thin-film modules produced by Colorado-based Ascent Solar. The facility, he said, represents innovative approaches that for relatively little cost can connect remote areas to the global network of information and ideas.

If energy is the lifeblood of the world economy, Ban argues that renewable energy represents an infusion of humanity.

According to the World Bank, more than 1.4 billion people worldwide — mostly in places like rural Asia and much of Africa — do not have access to electricity. About 3 billion use wood, charcoal, coal, and dung for cooking and heating. Reaching universal access to modern energy services by 2030 will require new capital investment of up to $40 billion annually in new investments.

Ban categorized three areas of energy...

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/08/u-n-secretary-general-renewables-can-end-energy-poverty?cmpid=WindNL-Wednesday-September7-2011

[bananas]

1. k&r - something you won't find at nuclearmarketingcollective.com

[kristopher]

2. When I hear the oft stated claim that nuclear is the answer for developing counties with no grids.

I can't help but cringe.

[bananas]

3. San Onofre probably won't be back online until Saturday the earliest

San Diego county had a wide-spread blackout today,
started in Yuma around 3:40 this afternoon,
took out parts of Mexico and north to San Clemente.
San Onofre shut down when the grid went down,
and will take a few days to bring back up.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4988826&mesg_id=4988921
(edit to change link)