Why Universal Energy Abundance is the Key to 21st Century Development

Abundant energy is the single biggest determinant of economic opportunity in the 21st century. Today, prosperity, security, and dignity all come through an electrical outlet, and every major development goal from health and education to jobs and security depends on reliable, affordable, sustainable, and abundant power. Indeed, no rich country is energy poor.

More than 730 million people still lack access to basic electricity, and billions more don’t have enough to power opportunity or a path to prosperity. Our vision is a future where every person on earth consumes enough electricity not just to survive, but to thrive — and in doing so unleashes the transformative role clean energy technologies can play in the energy systems of the future.

Universal energy abundance means access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for everyone, everywhere. It requires electrifying households to ensure that every person on the planet can benefit from the life-changing impact it has in the home, while also ensuring that critical economic sectors (mining, industry, agriculture, etc.) are able to invest, grow, and unlock broad-based economic growth. These twin goals of universal access and powering productivity can, and must, be done in parallel.

That’s why The Rockefeller Foundation is making a Big Bet on Universal Energy Abundance. Through the Global Energy Alliance, our support for Mission 300 in Africa, and other investments, we are putting the goal of universal energy abundance at the center of the global development conversation and encouraging more investment by governments, international organizations, philanthropies, and the private sector.

The Foundation has already committed $600 million to catalyze pathways for achieving universal energy abundance. Through our work with the Global Energy Alliance, we are working in dozens of countries to further energy access and abundance.

• In Rajasthan, India, the Global Energy Alliance has partnered with the state government to build a digital portal where farmers can register land at fair lease rates. They also co-developed a digital monitoring tool that gave utilities real-time visibility on nearly 900 projects. This work has led to Rajasthan adding roughly 183MW of solar capacity and about 12,700 more solarized pumps than expected.
• In Nigeria, interconnected mini-grids supported by the Global Energy Alliance demonstrate how decentralized systems can strengthen, rather than sit apart from, national grids. By deploying catalytic capital and coordinating utilities, developers, and regulators, the Global Energy Alliance helped deliver projects that connected 30,000 people to electricity and created or improved 14,000 jobs.
• In Haiti, where the traditional grid is often unreliable or out of reach, the Global Energy Alliance backed a different approach. Mesh grids connect small solar and battery systems house-to-house, cutting costs and creating a network that is more resilient. With concessional funding absorbing early risk, a local developer expanded from about 1,000 to nearly 5,000 households in just 18 months, demonstrating how decentralized systems can deliver reliable power at scale.

Driving towards universal energy abundance does not mean slowing the energy transition. In fact, in many countries, clean energy is now more affordable than traditional energy sources. In India, utility-scale solar combined with storage has recently delivered firm, “baseload” power at roughly 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, nearly half the cost of new coal-fired generation. In the United States, Texas now leads U.S. states in renewable energy integration, which analysts unanimously say makes Texas’ grid more ready to meet demand. When we thoughtfully leverage the power of new technologies as part of a system-wide effort, the results can be transformational for both people and planet.

Ultimately, it is up to each country to decide its path toward universal energy abundance. They need to determine their journey based on their specific needs and resources. For example, small modular nuclear reactors may be the right solution for some nations in the coming decade, while others pursue large-scale BESS and solar integration.

No matter how countries choose to pursue universal energy abundance, it’s clear that prioritizing this goal is essential to achieving development in the 21st century.