PV large scale rural electrification programs and the development of desert regions

Abstract

This paper overviews two original large scale experiences: ‘The 20 villages PV rural electrification program’ and ‘The Maghreb PV Pumping Program’. The in-depth analysis of the reported data focused on the technical aspects of both programs and many relevant key issues have been extracted in order to pursue or no in the direction of large-scale PV programs. It is concluded that both experiences may be reproducible in other areas with similar geographical and cultural conditions such as the Arab ountries. Furthermore, VLS PV combined with hydrogen production is likely to be a feasible and a viable future option for the Euro Mediterranean region. The lessons drawn from these experiences and the expected technology developments open wide perspectives for mass electricity production by mean of large scale PV plants in these desert regions.