On a visit to metro Denver, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday checked out portable solar-power “blankets” and other innovations that could help reach a goal of bringing power to the one in five people worldwide who still lack electricity.
Ban declared delivery of electricity to more people around the globe a top UN priority and devoted much of the day to exploring sustainable energy challenges with government and industry leaders.
UN and National Renewable Energy Lab officials said they’re developing a new partnership aimed at ensuring universal access to electricity and a doubling of reliance on renewable energy by 2030.
For too many years, “we mined our way to growth and burned our way to prosperity. Those days are over,” Ban said later at the annual University of Denver Korbel Dinner. “Climate change is showing that the old model is obsolete, even dangerous. We need a revolution in our thinking, in action, in our daily behavior.”
Today, roughly 1.4 billion of the planet’s nearly 7 billion people lack electricity, most in rural South Asia and Africa.
“By providing access to energy, we can empower all of them,” Ban said in an interview after visiting the lab.
“We can help them raise their productivity. We can empower women. We can help implement development goals. We can create jobs.”
UN agencies have been trying to rally investment in energy-access programs, declaring 2012 the “Year for Sustainable Energy for All.” They regard electricity as a prerequisite for meeting basic human needs.
A 67-year-old South Korean diplomat re-elected in June to a second term as UN chief, Ban said 3 percent of current global energy investment could finance access to modern energy for all.
At NREL in Golden, flexible thin-film solar panels made with hard-to-get minerals, such as gallium, enable easier transport and use in rough terrain.
Colorado-based Ascent Solar employees showed Ban the tarplike “solar blanket” designed to be laid out on the ground to collect sunlight and convert it to electricity stored in batteries. The thinking is that villagers could use these blankets when there’s sunlight and then put them away at night to prevent theft. US defense agencies funded their development for military uses.
“These technologies can occupy a significant portion of a career, and to see such a high degree of interest is gratifying,” Ascent’s chief technology officer, Joe Armstrong, said.
NREL teams also are experimenting with coatings to prevent build-up of dust on solar panels, which is a problem across the Middle East.
Ron Benioff, NREL’s manager of international programs, said the 2030 goal “is largely achievable — if we stay dedicated and bring a comprehensive approach,” combining research with investment and policy work.
The emerging partnership between the UN and NREL involves use of the lab’s online Clean Energy Solutions Center, designed to convey technical information to people seeking electricity and converting to renewable sources.
“We’re also working closely with (UN agencies) on solar and wind resource mapping,” Benioff said.
NREL and UN officials said they are planning a formal announcement of their partnership this fall.
