The Solar Age
by Chris Broughton, Benin Resident Country Director, Millennium Challenge Corporation
Electricity has become such a necessity to modern life — it powers our phones, our computers, our lights — that it can be easy to forget that the promise of electric power is still a distant hope for too many. More than one in seven people globally do not have electricity, and nearly 3 billion people still rely on wood or charcoal for cooking and heating.
The human impact of this energy poverty is stark. More people die each year from indoor air pollution released from the burning of wood and charcoal than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Lack of energy stunts economic growth and cripples the delivery of critical services such as water, health, and education.
Meanwhile, rising demand for energy is placing enormous stresses on the environment. Deforestation for fuel wood and charcoal continues unabated in the poorest countries of the planet, resulting in flooding and loss of rainfall, topsoil, and wildlife. And globally, including in the developed world, increased emissions from the combustion of fossil and biomass fuels are warming the Earth’s climate, which the 2015 National Security Strategy of the United States called an urgent and growing threat both to the homeland and U.S. national security.
Yet, a quiet but profound revolution is underway that could meet the energy needs of developing nations without compromising the well-being of future generations. Photovoltaic technology, which harnesses the power of the sun to produce electric power, is on track to produce electricity as cheaply as coal. Combined with continued technological advancements in battery storage, solar power has the potential to jumpstart growth and industrialization in the poorest countries in the world.
In the West African country of Benin, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) — a U.S. Government agency dedicated to fighting poverty through economic growth — is pioneering a program to place solar power at the forefront of the nation’s energy future.
Last year, MCC and the Republic of Benin signed a $375 million agreement to transform the country’s electric power sector. This agreement includes MCC’s largest investment in solar power to date. It funds 45 megawatts of utility-scale solar power generation as well as small-scale solar power production to help households and communities that are not connected to the grid. In fact, MCC’s new compact with Benin represents the largest bilateral U.S. investment in off-grid power, anywhere.
Perhaps even more importantly, MCC will help policymakers in Benin put cost-reflective tariffs into place and welcome private investment in environmentally sustainable power generation.
The right mix of policies, financing, and technology can transform the energy sector for one of the poorest countries in the world. In fact, this program has the potential to serve as a model to help other poor countries elevate the quality of life for their people while preserving the environment for generations that follow.
Christopher Broughton is the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Resident Country Director for Benin. He has served on the White House National Security Council staff and at the U.S. Department of State, USAID, and as a Peace Corps volunteer.
