Electrifying Everything- Policy Brief

ELECTRIFYING EVERTHING | La Jolla Conference 30 th Anniversary Policy Brief

What should we electrify first?

Today we face a unique opportunity that marries extremely affordable financing for renewables with a high degree of collective consciousness to address emissions. Yet energy poverty remains pervasive globally while digitalization trends also contribute to increased demand for energy. To achieve a meaningful decarbonization of the energy used in our daily lives, we must turn to electrification. The source of energy for our daily activities is critical. Moreover, not all sectors will, can, or should be electrified. Indeed, from a power system perspective, it does not make sense to create redundant systems in the short term.

As part of the discourse surrounding electrifying everything, where and what activities should we focus on first? Assuming we cannot electrify everything at once, what should we prioritize? Cooking, heating, private and public transportation?

In many ways, and clearly as part of the need to increase energy access and supply while reducing emissions, the electrification process of certain economic sectors will not be from scratch. Cooking and heating have seen huge gains in electrification across the world with many residential and industrial systems now relying upon electricity. These efforts are crucial to reducing energy poverty and delivering modern, secure sources to citizens. The flurry of announcements from major car manufacturers and their plans to electrify most if not all of their product line, combined with several national and subnational policy goals, underscore that the automotive sector has already made its decision in favor of electrification. However, this does not completely translate to all transport segments. Indeed, the electrification of air and long-distance transport, as well as maritime transport, is not as certain in the near-term. Electrification or the substitution of jet fuels with battery systems has not yet been commercialized and most likely other technologies — such as fuel cells — will have to come into play to fully decarbonize these particular segments of the transport sector. As seen through the proxy of the United States debate around a major infrastructure bill and package, the question of EV charging stations and support for the mass-deployment of electro-mobility remains crucial. In many ways, the infrastructure question pertaining to EVs will continue to take center-stage.

Electrifying everything and inclusion

If we start from the assumption that energy access should be guaranteed as a service, how does electrifying everything align with demands for equality and protecting the environment? For some, it should not be seen as a “universal free for all” solution. Energy access should be universal,

ELECTRYFING EVERYTHING | INSTITUTE OF THE AMERICAS