Integrated Renewable Energy Sources for Decentralized Systems in Developing Countries

Abstract

Renewable energy is sustainable, inexhaustible and can easily be set up in small unitsand is therefore, suitable for community management and ownership. However, a very serious threat to grassroots utilization of renewable energy in rural areas is the lack of large and effective infrastructures to generating changes in renewable energy technologies. Moreover, most of the renewable energy sources being used in the rural areas have failed in matching supply with demand due to their stochastic or seasonal variations. There is need for educational institutions to involve in aggressive research in renewable energy technologies tailored using locally available renewable energy sources and training of personnel to do the jobs in developing countries.This paper presents the overall review of renewable energy technologies available for use in rural areas, stressed the need for collaborative efforts between the governments, communities and educational institutionsand discussed on design considerations for integrated rural energy systems and small hydro/PV hybrid system for a typical rural community in Nigeria.