WHAT IT IS​
​​​Energy poverty is instigated by a range of forces and situations. Three of the key reasons behind what causes energy poverty, and what slow renewable energy developments which helps end energy poverty, are explained below.
Extremely low, or completely avoided use of clean energy due to high cost
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The extremely low use or the completely avoided use of clean energy due to high cost is one of the main causes of energy poverty. The costs and scarcity of non-renewable and unsustainable fuels will unavoidably continue to grow as the world population increase and the fuel’s limited natural availability decrease. This will cause ever-increasing hardships to the people; rapidly increasing energy poverty.
Another reason for extremely limited use, or the complete absence of energy utilisation by people in rural areas, is the lack of physical access to grid-connected power. Unlike increasing awareness and knowledge on developing or improving the renewable energy technologies to reduce the net energy cost, the solutions to this problem solely lies within specific government policies and decisions of individual countries, as the relevant technology used to transmitting power over different regions is well matured and recognized.
The issue of energy costs could be overturned by identifying renewable energy potentials and switching to these clean energy sources. Renewable energy, which is a clean and unlimited source of electricity, is abundant in almost all parts of the world in various forms, and together is easily capable of producing thousands of times the current global power demand with minimal impact to the environment, as explained further in this website.
​​Solar power, wind power, and biofuels, are three common sources of sustainable energy that could help power the world. Source: Flickr/CC-BY-NC-2.0​​
​High cost, performance doubts, and lack of financing to renewable energy projects​
Slow commercial-scale clean energy developments are a result of considerable doubts in the relatively new renewable energy technologies. This has also lead to considerable number of financial institutions either not providing financial services to such developments, or imposing unbearably high interest on project financing.​
Although slow, this is becoming less and less of an issue as such technologies are improved in ways such as conversion efficiencies and economics, and as more studies are carried out on its dependability and feasibility. This favourable trend could be further expedited by spreading knowledge on renewable energy and supporting further research and development. This has, and will continue to, further encourage more governments and financial institutions to enter the field in a competitive manner as the industry becomes more reliable. Further cost reductions will prevail as these technologies reach economies-of-scale.​
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Unwillingness to change​
Another significant cause of energy poverty is the simple unwillingness to switch energy sources. This attitude arises when people, societies, or even governments, feels they could sustain their economy or power supplies based on their existing sources. This is currently a significant issue as this situation is currently prevailing in many parts of the world.
As this website aims to do, a simple solution to this problem would be to spread knowledge on the current threats we face using non-renewable fossil-fuels, and spread awareness on the vast amounts of untapped renewable energy potential of the world.
References
http://www.ghananewslink.com/?id=20696
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2010/weo2010_poverty.pdf
http://www.renewables-info.com/energy_news_and_reports/renewable_energy_sector_still_young_but_moving_forward.html
http://www.garnautreview.org.au/update-2011/commissioned-work/renewable-energy-technology-cost-review.pdf
http://www.altenergy.org/Arcs___Sparks/Transitions/transitions.html