Issue Power without Limits

Summary

Power without Limits asks what would happen if affordable electricity were available to everyone. Advanced superconducting materials would carry energy without loss, linking populations and industries everywhere. Around 655 million people still lack electricity, so while about 92% of the world has access, distribution is uneven, with 18 of the 20 countries with the largest access gaps in sub-Saharan Africa and 500 million of those without power living in rural areas. Transmission and distribution losses average 6% worldwide, the lowest since 1990, but inefficiencies persist, losses rise at peak times and non-renewable generation still harms the environment. Lower energy costs, pollution and infrastructure needs are the expected benefits, while wider grids could be vulnerable to attack and superconducting technologies and related IP could become monopolised.