HYRESS Installations

Three hybrid renewable energy systems pilot installations are to be realised:
 
Egypt:
The Abokida hamlet was initially selected and it is located at the El-Gaish Road (military road), about 90km south east of Alexandria city. The Abokida hamlet consists of 13 houses for 13 families and mosque. The population in the hamlet is about 60 inhabitants. The location is a newly reclaimed land under development. The people live mainly on grassing and farming. The previously selected site (Abokida Hamlet) is now connected to the grid. In order to avoid such problem, another site at about 25km far from the nearest grid was finally selected. The new selected site is located at Wadi El-Natroon area, Behera Governorate, east of El-Gaar Village. The site suffers from lack of both water and electricity. The government of Egypt distributed this land to economically disadvantage groups of people like landless farm workers and unemployed young University graduates. It is the government national plan and policy to encourage rural development and settlements in this area. Certainly, renewable energy sources and relevant technologies are expected to play a significant role in this development policy. The hybrid renewable energy system installed in this village supplies electricity, water pumping for irrigation and a desalination system for providing potable water. The system includes photovoltaics and wind turbine(s) since the area has a high solar and wind potential and a desalination unit equipped with energy recovery designed for use with renewable energy systems.

 Morocco:
Recently, the National office of electricity (ONE) has undertaken a large-scale grid extension to rural areas. However, the majority of remote rural regions in Morocco, and particularly in the Tensift-Alhaouz regions, are characterized by:
-          Scattered villages
-          Population of less than 100 households per village.
-          Small energy demands: lighting and some basic utilities (generally a TV and a radio).
Therefore it is economically not feasible to extend the grid to such dispersed areas. Renewable energy systems provide an adequate alternative solution since they may be easily adapted to such boundary conditions. Furthermore, these regions are known for their abundant solar radiation which makes these regions very attractive for decentralized PV energy generation and use.
  
Hybrid renewable energy-based mini-grids (PV and wind) are very suitable for this regions. The village that will be chosen for the pilot installations will provide a model that may be followed by other communities. These installations will improve the standard of living of the population, contribute to infrastructure development and provide a locomotive for sustainable development.
The major problem of these systems is the energy storage. Batteries operating under high ambient temperatures usually need to be replaced often and this way they introduce a high maintenance system cost, along with a high environmental cost due to their toxic nature. On the other hand hydrogen seems to be the energy carrier of the future. Much research is taking place covering all aspects of hydrogen subsystems, from electrolyzers and fuel cells, to metal hydride tanks and purification systems. Little research has taken place concerning the use of these technologies under the high temperatures of the MPC. Valuable information will be gathered by the setting up and operation of all the components of the hydrogen subsystem. In the future such systems could be upgraded to provide fuel for local vehicles making the dependence to oil much lower.
 
Tunisia:
For Tunisia, the village of Ksar Ghilene has been selected which is located near an oasis, in the desert region of the country. In this village there are already PV systems supplying with electricity about fifty houses, a school and a community clinic. In this village there is also a PV pumping system as well as public showers equipped with solar- heaters. This village still remains very far away from the national grid. In the framework of the present project the existing RE installations will be enriched with a wind turbine (its size is to be determined within the project) and also set up a mini grid. Different mini grid topologies will be considered before the final installation takes place. 
 
By setting-up the afore mentioned three pilot installations in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia the proposed research will bring a significant contribution for creating sustainable structures with a decent living quality in the rural environments of the Mediterranean Partner Countries by developing highly innovative hybrid RE installations based on the availability of local renewable energy sources and the local social conditions and needs.