US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Abstract: Reliable,safe,and secure electricity is essential for economic and social development and a necessary input for many sectors of the economy. However,electricity generation and associated processes make up a significant portion of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contributing to climate change (IPCC 2014). Furthermore,electricity systems are vulnerable to climate change impacts?both short-term events and changes over the longer term. This vulnerability presents both near-term and chronic challenges in providing reliable,affordable,equitable,and sustainable energy services. Within this context,developing countries face a number of challenges in the energy sector,including the need to reliably meet growing electricity demand,lessen dependence on imported fuels,expand energy access,and improve stressed infrastructure for fuel supply and electricity transmission.