RSS Amplifier

Robert’s Substack · Mar 20, 2026

Electricity for developing nations

0
Sign in to vote or save

Robert Hargraves · Robert’s Substack

US lifestyle is enabled by ample electricity, using an order of magnitude more electric energy than in the populous developing nations.

Annual per person electric energy, Ritchie, IEA, 2024.

Hannah Ritchie writes about this in By The Numbers. Running a 1,000 watt bedroom air conditioner to sleep 8 hours uses 3,000 kWh a year.

Electric appliances give women time off from home duties to read, study, get jobs, become independent, and make choices about bearing children.

Hans Rosling recorded the impact of The Magic Washing Machine at a classic TEDWomen talk, worth rewatching. Rosling advises leaders to promise washing machines to be elected.

Low cost nuclear power can provide the ample energy needed and also support economic growth to create jobs so consumers can afford do buy such appliances.

Per capita electric power consumption, Thorcon, 2021

Enabling European lifestyles everywhere would require about 3,000 GW of full-time electric power. We could reduce nuclear power costs to $1 billion/GW if we return to the original costs of building US nuclear power plants.

The SE Asia electricity market will grow to $600 billion by 2040. Indonesia alone expects to install 54 GW of nuclear power by 2060. Thorcon International explains how it will provide low cost nuclear power.

Read the original on hargraves.substack.com

Comments

Nothing yet. Say the first thing.

    Sign in to join the conversation.