MIT centers, laboratories, departments and programs provide a multi-faceted approach to solving the world's energy challenge.
Energy needs in
the developing world
The high cost of energy, inadequate infrastructures and the environmental impacts of energy consumption place enormous stresses on the developing world. These problems are especially serious in the world's megacities (10 million-plus population), 70 percent of which will be in the developing world by 2015. Fossil fuel combustion in megacities is already causing significant health problems and posing major challenges for municipal governance. Further, cities in general are major contributors to global climate warming, emitting about 80 percent of world's greenhouse gases but occupying only around four tenths of a percent of its surface.
Reliable, cost-effective energy service is also key to improving the quality of life in rural regions of developing nations where there is little or no access to electricity; adding or enhancing such access either through conventional grids, micro-grids, or other distributed systems will provide not only electricity but also benefits such as potable water, health care, transportation options and other services that promote economic development and enhanced quality of life.
Developing new strategies for designing low-cost energy technologies and enabling their use by the world's poorer nations remains one of the large challenges for the 21st century. Enabling organic growth and evolution of energy systems over time while tapping local resources and talent are key aspects of providing robust, reliable energy to the developing regions of the world.
