Renewable Energy Integration in Canadian Remote Community Microgrids: The Feasibility of Hydrogen and Gas Generation

Abstract

Approximately 1.1 Billion, or 14%, of the global population do not have access to electricity due to the challenges associated with energy supply. Around 84% of those without electricity access reside in rural areas, with more than 95% being in sub-Saharan Africa and the developing parts of Asia. In Canada, about 72% of off-grid aboriginal and nonaboriginal communities use fossil fuel (oil: 71%, natural gas: 0.8%) as their main source of electricity generation, and only 4.7% of these communities rely on renewable energy sources (RES). In addition, 17.9% fulfill their energy demand through interconnections with other communities as they don?t have enough resources to support their own needs. The remaining 5.6% are reported to rely on unknown sources of electricity (see Arriaga et.al. 2014).