Rural electrification based on renewable energies. A review

Abstract

Rural environments present different electrification needs compared with the urban industrial areas. Those particularities imply rethinking electrification strategies taking into consideration economical, social and environmental aspects. In that respect, renewable distributed generation linked with microgrids presents interesting features for remote or sparsely populated areas. This paper presents the environmental advantages of using renewable generation, and displays a comparative characterization of rural/urban loads, a discussion of the most extended microgrid topologies, a comparative of available storage techniques and a literature review of the main steps in the process of designing a new microgrid.