recaptured and new energy-saving techniques (e.g., 

 better process control, new processes) are being 

 developed. However, these techniques mostly affect new 

 capital stock and it is premature to judge the extent 

 to which energy consumption patterns are changing, 

 although it is clear that new consumer purchases are 

 more energy-efficient than the average existing stocks. 

 Further, research is progressing on energy sources 

 that can be economically decentralized such as 

 fluidized bed combustion, direct solar, wind, and 

 biomass. The integration of several energy sources 

 into a single energy-efficient system for use in rural 

 or isolated areas is also being studied. Like the 

 United states, developing countries could benefit from 

 improved building technology for both energy and other 

 considerations and more energy-efficient transportation 

 and industrial systems. Of course, in some indigenous 

 housing the overall energy efficiency, reflecting local 

 building materials, cultural practices, and climate, 

 may already be as great as feasible. Collaborative 

 work could also be done on linking traditional and 

 modern energy systems efficiently. During this 

 process, considerable emphasis could be placed on the 

 institutional development needed for improved energy 

 management. 



Proposed Initiatives 



We recommend that the United States offer technical 

 collaboration and assistance to support energy planning 

 and research and development in developing countries, 

 along the lines of the two proposed strategies. Such 

 assistance would include a comprehensive, 

 multidisciplinary analysis of technology, economics, 

 domestic resources, and public policy. In this regard, 

 the United States could play a coordinating role in 

 bringing together energy planners from the U, S. 

 government, business, universities, and public interest 

 groups for advisory tasks and in encouraging certain 

 common approaches to energy planning in different 

 regions of the world. The U.S. initiative could also 

 provide a vehicle for supporting joint U. S. -developing 

 country activities, perhaps broader based cooperative 

 studies and major demonstrations on topics such as 

 exploration and development of indigenous conventional 

 and nonconventional energy supplies, the use of 

 decentralized energy sources, energy needs and 

 opportunities in areas remote from concentrated sources 

 such as large electric power stations, and increasing 

 the efficiency of energy-using devices such as cooking 

 stoves. 



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