Abstract
It is estimated that two billion people live without electricity and its services. In addition, there is a sizeable number of rural villages that have limited electrical service, with either part-day operation by diesel gensets or partial electrification (local school or community center and several nearby houses). For many villages connected to the grid, power is often sporadically available andof poor quality. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, has initiated a program to address these potential electricity opportunities in rural villages through the application of renewable energy (RE) technologies. The objective of this; program is to develop and implement applications that demonstrate the echnical performance, economic competitiveness,operational viability, and environmental benefits of renewable rural electric solutions compared to the conventional options of line extension and isolated diesel mini-grids. These four attributes foster sustainability; therefore, the program is entitled; Renewables for Sustainable Village Power (RSVP). The RSVP program is a multi-disciplinary, multi-technology, multi-application programcomposed of six activities, including village applications development, computer model development, systems analysis, pilot project development, technical assistance, and Internet-based village power project database. While the current program emphasizes wind, photovoltaics (PV), and their hybrids with diesel gensets, micro-hydro and micro-biomass technologies may be integrated in the future.NREL's RSVP team is currently involved in rural electricity projects in thirteen countries, with U.S., foreign, and internationally based agencies and institutions. The integration of the technology developments, institutional experiences, and the financial solutions for the implementation of renewables in the main line rural electrification processes in both the developing world and remoteregions of the developed world is our goal.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 9 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Event | International Conference on Village Electrification through Renewable Energy - New Delhi Duration: 3 Mar 1997 → 5 Mar 1997 |
Conference
| Conference | International Conference on Village Electrification through Renewable Energy |
|---|---|
| City | New Delhi |
| Period | 3/03/97 → 5/03/97 |
NREL Publication Number
- NREL/CP-440-22608
Keywords
- hybrid systems
- micro-biomass
- micro-hydro
- photovoltaics (PV)
- rural village
- wind