Off-Grid PV-Based Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Electricity Generation in Remote Areas

Abstract

Wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy are renewable energy sources known as promising alternatives for electricity generation, especially with the depletion of fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources are present, with huge quantities, free access, and without a negative impact on the environment. The electricity produced by renewable energies is gradually becoming economically and technically advantageous. In most cases, integrating a single source of renewable energy can lead to over-sizing and therefore a very expensive implementation. To remedy this, systems consisting of one or numerous renewable energy sources are adopted in order to guarantee maximum electricity production as well as practical reliability at encouraging costs. In addition, the electricity generated by renewable energy sources such as wind turbines, solar, biomass, geothermal energy … has a particular interest in isolated spaces. This chapter provides an updated literature review about Off-grid PV-Based Hybrid Renewable Energy System for electricity generation in remote areas. First, after the introduction, a presentation of the world energy situation was discussed in order to see the progress of the implementation of renewable energies on a global scale. Secondly, a section was reserved for renewable energy alternatives in order to discuss each source separately, before starting the part devoted to off-grid hybrid renewable energy structures. These structures have been examined in a large number of researches works with the aim of electrifying remote areas in several countries of the world. Finally, a detailed presentation of the main reliability, economic, and environmental performance indices is given for the evaluation of these systems.