Access to electricity has been steadily increasing. In 1990, about 73% of the world's population had access. By 2014, access had grown to 85%.

Closing the gap between people with and without electricity has tangible benefits.

Electricity in the evenings could help as many as 2 million children study at home, leading to a higher level of education.

Electricity means that families will burn less kerosene, wood, and charcoal indoors, improving their overall health.

Electricity is critical to economic development, and is a key to eradicating poverty.

Traditionally, electricity is managed through centralized grids, with networks of transformers, towers, wires and switches. The traditional source of the power is fossil fuels like coal or natural gas, or nuclear energy.

Traditional, centralized electricity infrastructure may not be cost effective in areas that are remote, which has led to the current challenge.

Kerosene is the fuel of choice in many of the remote communities, and has both a financial and environmental cost.

Did you know that, even in developing countries, people have smartphones? How do you charge a mobile phone with no electricity?

You walk to the nearest town and plug in at a kiosk, and pay as much as $0.25 per charge. That's not bad, right? Remember that these are the people who live off of less than $1.90/day! That adds up.

Non-profits are working with local governments in sub-Saharan Africa to provide solar power to remote villages.

Solar energy affords families more time and enhanced productivity. It can also save families as much as $10 per month by reducing fuel and mobile phone charging costs.

The push towards solar energy in remote villages in sub-Saharan Africa reduces CO2 emissions by reducing kerosene usage. Kerosene is a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming.

Are developing countries following suit? Are they working on plans to adopt more clean and renewable energy sources, since they consume the most energy worldwide?

Developed countries like Germany, China, and the United States are making investments in renewable sources like solar energy.

Countries like Scotland are making investments in wind energy. In 2015, wind power produced the equivalent of 97% of the country's household electricity needs.

Clean energy sources are cheap to operate because the "fuel" is free, and the maintenance is minimal. However, the upfront cost to build the technology can be expensive.

Most power infrastructure was built to serve large fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. In order to support renewable energy, new power lines and infrastructure is needed. Without the infrastructure, there's no way to move electricity from where it's generated to where it's consumed.

In order to fully support renewable energy, governments will have to make the commitment to taking action.