Leapfrogging Fossil Fuels

      There is a lot of debate in developed countries about how much to invest in renewable energy. Even the most motivated of climate change believers know overhauling a nations power grid and replacing old fossil fuel systems with clean alternatives will take a lot of time and resources. We will need to work vigilantly in the coming decades to fully put dirty energy behind us. Fortunately there is still time for some developing countries to learn from our mistakes.


     Currently kerosene and diesel based grids are popular choices for developing communities. However research is being done that shows that solar and or wind based micro grids can be more efficient and cheaper then their fossil fuel counterparts. This would mean that developing countries could benefit greatly from investing straight into renewable energy and skipping the fossil fuel step entirely. This would save them from going through the same colossal headache that most developed countries are currently dealing with.


     Their are some that might cite cheaper megawatt per hour prices for some fossil
fuel based grids. These numbers are usually outdated and don’t paint the whole picture. For example solar and wind based grids are easier to put in place and easier to maintain. They are also cleaner and safer, resulting in less health and safety incidents. These benefits add up to significant long term reduction in costs when compared to fossil fuel based grids. There is also data that shows the price of clean energy is dropping and will continue to drop as the world invests more into switching to fossil fuel alternatives.



     With all these benefits it easy to see why developing nations are increasing their renewable energy output almost twice as fast as already developed countries. They have seen light and are ready to make renewable energy their future without making fossil fuels their past.

Links to Further Reading! Thinkprogress.org, theclimategroup.org