Doctoral student studies energy poverty in Ghana, Africa
In the United States, electricity is a creature comfort many citizens take for granted. Yet for more than a billion people across the globe, particularly in developing regions, electrification is the exception, not the norm.
Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, is the least electrified region in the world. It has the lowest generation capacity behind eastern South Asia and few programs that provide access to modern forms of energy. (more…)
*Berkeley Lab joint report offers a variety of scenarios to reduce emissions to 80% below 1990 levels.*
Berkeley, CA — In the next 40 years, California’s population is expected to surge from 37 million to 55 million and the demand for energy is expected to double. Given those daunting numbers, can California really reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, as required by an executive order? Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who co-wrote a new report on California’s energy future are optimistic that the target can be achieved, though not without bold policy and behavioral changes as well as some scientific innovation.
The report, titled “California’s Energy Future—The View to 2050,” draws a series of energy system “portraits” showing how California can meet its ambitious emissions targets using a combination of measures and energy sources that may include electrification, enhanced efficiency, nuclear energy, renewable energy sources, grid modernization, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). (more…)
