Annotated Bibliography

Ahuja, D., & Tatsutani, M. (2009). Sustainable energy for developing countries. SAPIENS.
Surveys and Perspectives Integrating Environment and Society, (2.1). Retrieved from
https://sapiens.revues.org/823
This paper does an excellent job breaking down several different historic energy trends
around the world, as well as renewable energy differences between developed and
underdeveloped countries. Ahuja and Tatsutani argue that a major problem in
underdeveloped nations is that it is extremely difficult to worry about long-term
sustainability while many citizens are simply trying to survive with little resources to
which they have access. In order to analyze renewable energy resources on a global scale,
it is important to understand the differences between industrialized and underdeveloped
countries, and the particular needs and strengths of all countries.
Bullis, K. (2012). In the Developing World, Solar Is Cheaper than Fossil Fuels-Technology
Review. Technology Review. Retrieved from
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/426718/in-the-developing-world-solar-ischeaper-than-fossil-fuels/
This article discusses how the dropping price of renewable energy sources, such as solar
panels in many countries, has dropped so low that now it is cheaper than the leading
fossil fuels. Thanks to several large, technological innovations, the global economy has
witnessed one of the largest transitions in history over the last few decades: from fossil
fuels to alternative energy sources. For example, the company Eight19 is known for
creating sensible payment plans in order to provide solar energy systems, specifically in
developing nations. Many companies like Eight19 have completely changed the
alternative energy market, due to their ability to reach out to poorer nations.
Climatescope 2015: The Clean Energy Country Competitiveness Index. Bloomberg New Energy
Finance. Retrieved from
http://about.bnef.com/white-papers/climatescope-2015-full-report/

The Climatescope report is an annual, country-by-country assessment of the worlds

climate-related investments. One of the major topics in last years report was renewable
energy sources, specifically in underdeveloped areas. Fifty-five countries throughout
South/Central America, Africa, and Asia were all profiled last year on their ability to
attract capital for low-carbon energy sources while building a greener economy. The
report found that new investment in renewable power generation in 2014 in the 55
countries hit a record high of USD $126 billion, up 39% from 2013 levels. report is the
most recent edition of an annual, country-by-country assessment of the worlds climaterelated investments. One of the major topics in last years report was renewable energy
sources, specifically in underdeveloped areas. Fifty-five countries throughout
South/Central America, Africa, and Asia were all profiled last year on their ability to
attract capital for low-carbon energy sources while building a greener economy. The
report found that new investment in renewable power generation in 2014 in the 55
countries hit a record high of USD $126 billion, up 39% from 2013 levels.
Fankhauser, S., Bowen, A., Calel, R., Dechezleprtre, A., Grover, D., Rydge, J., & Sato, M.
(2013). Who will win the green race? In search of environmental competitiveness and
innovation. Global Environmental Change, 23(5), 902-913. Retrieved from
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0959378013000812/1-s2.0-S0959378013000812-main.pdf?
_tid=3e3d62e6-dff1-11e5-9ebf00000aacb361&acdnat=1456866473_db4f9563b64da07cd9595981d2efb1b1
The Who will Win the Green Race? In Search of Environmental Competitiveness and
Innovation journal aims to determine the winners of the green race through combining
patent data with international trade and output data. Through an in-depth analysis of the
renewable energy market in eight different countries around the world, the researchers
were able to discover why some nations are further ahead than others. One of the most
difficult aspects of research in this particular field is the difficult task of defining green
competitiveness on a global scale. This study does an excellent job of defining green
competitiveness as the idea of countries competing for market share in an emerging
green economy, which is rooted in our understanding of the organic, bottom-up

dynamics of national and sectoral innovation systems. At the end of the day, it is
extremely difficult to collect sensitive data regarding renewable energy in extremely lowdeveloped nations. Therefore, researchers in this particular study acknowledged the fact
that the eight countries [they] stud[ied] account for almost two-thirds of the global
economic output, but data constraints meant [they] also had to leave out many important
economies, both present and emerging.
Foroudastan, S. D., & Dees, O. (2006). Solar power and sustainability in developing countries.
In Proceedings of the international conference on renewable energy for developing
countries. Retrieved from
http://www.udc.edu/docs/cere/Solar%20Power%20and%20Sustainability%20in
%20Developing%20Countries.pdf
A team of researchers from Middle Tennessee State University compiled this report ten
years ago, yet a significant amount of its information about the worlds renewable energy
sources is still relevant today. Foroudastan and Dees describe solar energy in developing
countries as a golden opportunity in many cases. This is because many underdeveloped
countries, especially in northern/central Africa, are closer to the Earths equator than
some of the worlds most developed nations. Therefore, solar energy in developing
nations would provide a serious boost in their economy due to the reduced electric
expenses over time.
King, E. (2015) Developing Countries Close to Taking Lead in Clean Energy Race. Climate
Home. Retrieved from
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/03/31/developingcountries-close-to-takinglead-in-clean-energy-race/
In the Developing Countries Close to Taking Lead in Clean Energy Race article, Ed
King argues that falling technology costs and increased evidence that renewables and
efficiency measures are cutting greenhouse gas emissions is one reason behind new
growth in developing countries. According to the UN Environment Programme,
renewable energy investments in developing countries are close to overtaking those in

the developed world for the first time. The graph above compares the growth in global
renewable energy investments from 2004-2014 in developed vs. developing countries.
The greatest difference between the two was in 2011, when developed countries reached
a max of 190, and then plateaued between 2011 and 2014. According to the pattern
displayed in the graph, it is reasonable to predict that developing countries (light green)
will pass developed countries (dark green) by 2015-2016. King explains that China has
shown the most significant growth over the last decade, with about $40 billion invested in
renewable energy projects.
Pantsios, A. (2014) Developing Countries Invest in Renewables Twice the Pace of Industrialized
Nations. Ecowatch. Retrieved from
http://ecowatch.com/2014/10/29/developing-countries-invest-renewable-energy/
The article Developing Countries Invest in Renewables Twice the Pace of Industrialized
Nations analyzes the discrepancies between renewable energy in developed and
underdeveloped countries. The article focuses on the Climatescope 2014 Report, which
reported that some of the worlds poorest countries are already renewable energy
leaders. The report concludes that large-scale clean energy development makes basic
economic sense in many Climatescope countries. This opinion supports the argument
that developing nations are winning the renewable energy race due to their low economic
status and inability to invest in expensive natural resources.
Spross, J. (2014) How Renewables in Developing Countries Are Leapfrogging Traditional
Power. Think Progress. Retrieved from
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/04/3588512/bnef-renewables-developingcountries/
In the Think Progress article How Renewables in Developing Countries are
Leapfrogging Traditional Power, Jeff Spross explains how many developing countries
are prepared to completely erase any trace of fossil fuels from their countrys energy
market. Mainly in Africa and Asia, these nations have become some of the strongest
alternative energy capitals in the world. In fact, developing countries renewable energy

capacity grew 143 percent between 2008 and 2013. On the other hand, wealthy western
nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in
North America, Europe, Australia, and so forth saw only 84 percent growth. Many of
the worlds poor rely on kerosene for heating or diesel for local electricity generation, or
simply pay high prices on the grid when they do have access. That makes the cost of their
fossil fuel energy some of the most expensive in the world: manufacturers paid $147.90
per megawatt-hour in the Climatescope nations. Meanwhile, the global cost of energy is
approximately $82 per megawatt-hour for wind, and $142 for solar energy.
Utech, D. (2015) A Big Win for Clean Energy and Climate Change. The White House-President
Barack Obama. Retrieved from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/12/17/big-win-clean-energy-and-climatechange
When this article, A Big Win for Clean Energy and Climate Change, was written in
December of 2015, the UN Climate Change Conference had just concluded in Paris,
France. These UN nations gathered in Paris-Le Bourget, just a few weeks after the
terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015. In this article, Dan Utech addresses the
global dimension of the clean energy race, and more importantly, how the US compares
to other UN members around the world. In the last decade, America has finally begun to
acknowledge their low standing in the global energy race. For example, since Obama
took office in 2009, wind energy has tripled and solar energy has increased 30 fold.
With this drastic increase, more jobs have also been createdwell-paying jobs that
cannot be shipped overseas.
Vandaele, N., & Porter, W. Renewable Energy in Developing and Developed Nations: Outlooks
to 2040. Retrieved from
http://warrington.ufl.edu/centers/purc/purcdocs/papers/1501_Vandaele_Renewable
%20Energy%20in%20Developing%20and%20Developed%20Nations.pdf
The journal Renewable Energy in Developing and Developed Nations: Outlooks to
2040 was written by two researchers at the University of Florida, Nicole Vandaele and

Dr. Wendell Porter. These researchers conducted a study in order to see how we could use
current renewable energy data in order to estimate total energy demands in 2040. The
four nations that they chose to study were the United States (developed) compared to
Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa (underdeveloped). These countries were chosen
because they reflect varying stages of economic development, current electricity
generation situations, and potential for renewable energy technologies. The ultimate goal
of the study was to determine the required capacity installations per year until 2040 in
order to generate nearly 100% of electricity with renewable sources. At the conclusion
of this study, they learned that the most efficient way to completely transfer our world to
an anti-natural resource society by 2040, both developing and developed nations should
work together in order to achieve maximum results in the renewable energy race around
the world.