Short and Long term Smart grid Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals

The sustainable development goals were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to propel the efforts of countries all over the world towards a more sustainable future. One can agree that although technology cannot solve all our problems, it can create many paths towards solutions and is perhaps one of the most powerful tools towards prosperity. Smart grid development, with its correspondence with the electrical grid development is of particular interest since electricity is a precursor to both innovation and progress. In this study, the contribution of smart grids towards the aforementioned sustainable development goals has been analyzed for both developed and developing countries. These contributions have been identified as either short-term contributions or long-term contributions, with long term contributions being predominant in developing countries due to limitations associated with the existing infrastructure. Following this, a number of central concepts where smart grids could contribute to several goals are identified and discussed.