Energizing rural areas of developing countries using IRES

Renewable energy resources can play a significant role in supplying the energy needed in the rural areas of developing countries for improving the living environment and for economic development. The concept of energization in which all the available renewable resources are used in an integrated fashion with proper resource-need matching is preferable to straight-forward electrification. This paper discusses the application and design of integrated renewable energy systems (IRES) for energizing the rural areas of developing countries. The design tool IRES-KB that has been developed has the potential for on-site interaction with local populace and can serve both as a design tool and as a planning tool