Renewable Energy Sources and Rural Development in Developing Countries

Integrated Renewable Energy Sources for Decentralized Systems in Developing Countries

“…The geothermal gradient, which is the difference in temperature between the core of the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface.Earth's internal heat is thermal energy generated from radioactive decay and continual heat loss from Earth's formation [18]. Temperatures at the core-mantle boundary may reach over 4000 °C (7,200 °F) [3]. The high temperature and pressure in Earth's interiorcause some rock to melt and solid mantle to behave plastically, resulting in portions of mantle convecting upward since it is lighter than the surrounding rock.…”

“…The definition of a small hydro project varies but a generating capacity of up to 10 megawatts (MW) is generally accepted as the upper limit of what can be termed small hydro.This may be stretched up to 30 MW in the United States, and 50 MW in Canada [1,3]. In contrast many hydroelectric projects are of enormous size, such as the generating plant at the Hoover Dam of 2,074 MW or the vast multiple projects of the Tennessee Valley Authority.…”

“…Alternatively, small hydro projects may be built in isolated areas that would be uneconomic to serve from a network, or in areas where there is no national electrical distribution network. Since small hydro projects usually have minimal reservoirs and civil construction work, they are seen as having a relatively low environmental impact compared to large hydro [3,5,23].This decreased environmental impact depends strongly on the balance between stream flow and power production. One tool that helps evaluate this issue is the Flow Duration Curve or FDC.…”

“…Within the limits of water resources available,SHP installations are characterized by reliability and flexibility of operation,including fast start-up and shut-down in response to rapid demand changes. SHPelectricity can be tailored to the needs of the end-use market, avoiding balanceand power reliability concerns [3,24,27].One major shortcoming of SHP is the seasonal variation of water especially during the dry season-it may stop or lower down due to low water in the river.…”

“…Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photo-voltaic convert light into electric current using the photovoltaic effect [3,28]. Photo-voltaic were initially, and still are, used to power small andmedium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-grid homes powered by a photovoltaic array.…”