Whether it be in the water, transportation, or energy sectors, third world countries have historically suffered from a lack of basic infrastructure compared to countries like Canada. There are many reasons for this but it is primarily due to cost as well as the difficulties associated with doing large business deals in developing countries. However, over the last few decades technological developments have allowed the developing world to catch up to the rest of us in a few key aspects.
The widespread adoption of cell phones in rural areas of developing countries is perhaps the best example of this phenomenon. Outside of the major cities, most developing countries never built out their wired telephone network to rural areas. Then along came the cellphone which leapfrogged the traditional phone business by allowing phone coverage to extend to rural areas without the need to build out expensive wired telephone networks. The rollout of small scale renewable electricity in developing countries is taking a similar path. Because renewable energy is relatively low cost, easy to maintain, and deployable in small distributed systems, it is leapfrogging over the traditional electricity network in much of the developing world.
Wind, solar and other sources of renewable electricity are often considered costly in mature economies like North America and Europe. This is because they are usually compared to the relatively cheap existing source of gas and coal powered electricity whose costs have already been paid for. However, in much of the developing world there is no electricity at all and where there is it is often powered by diesel generation. Diesel generation is very expensive and so solar and wind look much more attractive in these situations. Another common critique of renewable electricity in the west is that it is intermittent. Again, this is not an issue in parts of the world that have either no electricity at all to begin with or are accustomed to regular power outages triggered diesel shortages for example.
Wind and solar technology has evolved a long way in the past thirty years. However, unlike cell phone technology for example, wind and solar systems have actually become more simple and more durable. This allows them to be reliable in extreme conditions such as in the desert. It also allows them to be easily maintained by those who use them. This is particularly attractive in poor remote parts of the world that need to be self-sufficient.
Finally, another advantage of small wind and solar systems is that they can be built in isolation without the need for a large integrated power grid. For example, a farmer in sub-Saharan Africa can build a small wind turbine to power his farm without needing to rely on the government to build out the electricity network.
The world is slowly transitioning to renewable energy. The transition is happening most rapidly in areas where the value of renewables is most appreciated. Given their poverty and low demand for electricity, the developing world is not often thought of as a prime growth area for renewables. However, because renewables are often cheaper than the alternative, simple to maintain, and deployable in small distributed systems, they are in fact growing rapidly in the developing world. By doing so, they are closing the infrastructure gap between the developing and developed world.
