The world is making significant strides toward a clean energy future, but our electricity grids are stuck in the past. Unless we rapidly modernise grid infrastructure, the entire net zero vision is at risk.
Outdated, underfunded, and overstretched, electricity grids have become one of the biggest barriers to scaling renewable energy. Wind and solar projects are being delayed or cancelled due to grid bottlenecks while curtailment – the intentional reduction of renewable energy output – is expected to rise in areas where grid flexibility and storage capacity remain limited. Modern, resilient grids are essential for economic and social development, and for protecting communities from climate impacts like heatwaves, wildfires and floods. Despite growing investments, regional disparities and infrastructure gaps risk leaving some communities behind in the energy transition.
But solutions exist and philanthropy has an important role to play in modernising the grid infrastructure. Over 60 countries and 100 non-state actors have signed the Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge, committing to add or refurbish 25 million kilometres of grids by 2030. At ReNew2030, we believe that philanthropy is uniquely placed to accelerate grid modernisation. By unlocking investment, streamlining policies, and supporting regulatory reforms and local capacity building, we can help turn electricity grids into the backbone of the clean energy transition.
Through conversations with experts and partners in the sector, we identified key barriers to progress and explored how philanthropy can be a powerful catalyst for change.
Planning and approval for grid projects is often slow and complex and in some cases takes up to a decade. Complex permitting requirements, environmental assessments, and stakeholder consultations can create bottlenecks that slow down project development. These delays not only hinder the integration of renewable energy but also impact grid reliability and resilience.
Current regulatory frameworks often lack the flexibility to support rapid investment and innovation in grid infrastructure. Streamlining these processes, while maintaining robust oversight, is crucial to building a modern, resilient, and renewable-ready grid.
Philanthropy can play a critical role in accelerating regulatory reform through policy engagement and public education. Raising awareness of the urgent need and broad benefits of grid modernisation is key. By funding research and engaging with policymakers, philanthropic organisations can help shape policies, encourage investment, and support faster, more effective approval processes.
Modernising the grid is one of the most critical – and complex – challenges in the transition to renewable energy. The need to expand and upgrade aging infrastructure while integrating variable renewable energy sources is well established. Yet the sheer scale of investment – estimated at USD 717 billion annually through 2030, combined with regulatory fragmentation, uncertain financial returns and market design barriers, continues to hold back private capital.
This investment gap is especially stark in the Global South, where the urgent need to expand and modernise transmission and distribution infrastructure poses a significant hurdle to achieving energy transition goals.
While advanced economies grapple with modernising their aging grid infrastructure, some developing economies are still laying the foundations for their power systems. This makes grid investment not only a matter of modernisation, but a cornerstone of development, resilience and energy equity.
To bridge this gap, philanthropic capital can play a catalytic role. By funding early-stage pilots, strengthening institutional and technical capacity, supporting research, and addressing market failures – particularly in regions facing persistent investment gaps, philanthropy can help de-risk innovation and attract commercial investment.
A powerful example is the Renewables Investment Platform For Limitless Energy (RIPLE), a $500 million initiative led by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority with strategic support from our partner, The African Climate Foundation. Designed as a systems-change effort, RIPLE is unlocking private capital to build a scalable, resilient renewable energy ecosystem in Nigeria. With 300 MW of renewable energy projects already in the pipeline, it demonstrates how public-private collaboration can drive large-scale transformation. RIPLE offers a replicable model for grid investment and clean energy deployment in emerging markets.
Equipping local actors with the skills and tools to design, manage, and maintain future-ready grids is essential. This includes workforce development and technical education, alongside support for the digital transformation of electricity systems — ensuring they are smart, adaptive, and capable of balancing supply and demand in real time.
Philanthropy can play a transformative role in accelerating grid expansion and modernisation – bridging gaps often left by governments and private investors.
By catalysing progress, de-risking innovation, and strengthening institutional capacity, philanthropy can help deliver a just, inclusive and sustainable clean energy future.
