Clean Energy Top Priority, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Tells Renewable Energy Group, Cites Work in Haiti.

NREL: News Feature - Clean Energy Top Priority, U.N. Chief Tells NREL

Providing clean, renewable energy to the 1.4 billion people who are living without electricity is the No. 1 priority of the United Nations, the secretary general of the U.N. said during a visit Aug. 24 to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

"Senior project leader Phil Voss noted that NREL is working with the Energy Department and the Department of State to help Haiti emerge from the devastating earthquake with a renewable energy package that will bring electricity to more Haitians than before the disaster. The project has mapped Haiti's solar and wind resources and is working on a plan to turn waste into energy."