Energy is directly related to the most critical economic and social issues which affect sustainable development such as mobility, food production, environmental quality, regional and global security issues. Two-thirds of the new demand will come from developing nations, with China accounting for 30%. Without adequate attention to the critical importance of energy to all these aspects, the global, social, economic and environmental goals of sustainability cannot be achieved. Indeed the magnitude of change needed is immense, fundamental and directly related to the energy produced and consumed nationally and internationally. Today, it is estimated that more than two billion people worldwide lack access to modern energy resources. Distributed Renewable Energies for Off-Grid Communities provides various options and case studies related to the potential of renewable energies along with their environmental, economic and social dimensions. Case studies provide you with solutions to for future decentralized energy supply. Expanded coverage over previous work in the field to include coverage of rural and urban communities Provides new solutions for future decentralized energy supply.

It is estimated that more than two billion people worldwide lack access to modern energy resources. Renewable energy has the potential to bring power to these many communities and individuals who function off the grid. This book describes the latest advances in distributed and off-grid renewable energy technologies and offers strategies and guidelines for planning and implementation of sustainable, decentralized energy supply. Coverage includes wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass systems planning and integration, economic assessment models and the role of legislative structures. -- Back Cover.

Distributed Renewable Energies for Off-Grid Communities: Empowering a Sustainable, Competitive, and Secure Twenty-First Century, Second Edition, is a fully revised reference on advances in achieving successful energy transition. Addressing the highly dynamic, complex and multidimensional process of a dominant socio-technical system transforming into another, this up-to-date reference addresses all stages of this complex process with data and figures to demonstrate how to tackle the process of changing a society's energy circumstance. This new edition provides an updated picture of renewables in communities and their use, covering energy concepts, strategies, prospects and combining all aspects to provide a roadmap to self-sustainable development. Addressing the influence of society on the development of renewable industry, this book provides guidelines with case studies, along with trends and innovative practices regarding renewable energy and their applications with a goal of successfully establishing smooth energy transitions in self-sustainable communities. Includes case studies that provide solutions for future decentralized energy supply problems Contains fully updated equations, data sections and figures for all energy technologies Shares a blueprint for the development of self-sustainable Integrated Renewable Communities

Overview of energy requirements for rural communities; Calculating energy and food production potential and requirements; Planning of integrated energy systems for rural communities; Renewable energy resources and technologies; Applications of renewable energy technologies; System integration.

Distributed Energy Resources in Local Integrated Energy Systems: Optimal Operation and Planning reviews research and policy developments surrounding the optimal operation and planning of DER in the context of local integrated energy systems in the presence of multiple energy carriers, vectors and multi-objective requirements. This assessment is carried out by analyzing impacts and benefits at local levels, and in distribution networks and larger systems. These frameworks represent valid tools to provide support in the decision-making process for DER operation and planning. Uncertainties of RES generation and loads in optimal DER scheduling are addressed, along with energy trading and blockchain technologies. Interactions among various energy carriers in local energy systems are investigated in scalable and flexible optimization models for adaptation to a number of real contexts thanks to the wide variety of generation, conversion and storage technologies considered, the exploitation of demand side flexibility, emerging technologies, and through the general mathematical formulations established. Integrates multi-energy DER, including electrical and thermal distributed generation, demand response, electric vehicles, storage and RES in the context of local integrated energy systems Fosters the integration of DER in the electricity markets through the concepts of DER aggregation Addresses the challenges of emerging paradigms as energy communities and energy blockchain applications in the current and future energy landscape Proposes operation optimization models and methods through multi-objective approaches for fostering short- and long-run sustainability of local energy systems Assesses and models the uncertainties of renewable resources and intermittent loads in the short-term decision-making process for smart decentralized energy systems

More than two billion people worldwide have currently no access to grid electricity or other efficient energy supply. This is one third of humanity and the majority live in rural areas. The productivity and health of these people are diminished by reliance on traditional fuels and technologies, with women and children suffering most. Energy is the key element to empower people and ensure water, food and fodder supply as well as rural development. Therefore access to energy should be treated as the fundamental right to everybody. Renewable energy has the potential to bring power, not only in the literal sense, to communities by transforming their prospects. This book offers options that meet the needs of people and communities for energy and engage them in identifying and planning their own provision. It describes updated renewable energy technologies and offers strategies and guidelines for the planning and implementation of sustainable energy supply for individuals and communities.