IRES-A Smart Way to Utilize Renewable Energy Resources by Incorporating Hydrogen Storage

The task of meeting the energy needs of the ever-increasing population has posed enormous challenges on the entire humanity as a whole for decades now. Today, most of the nations have fossil-fuel driven economies only because fossil fuels enable faster economic growth and make modern lifestyles possible. In their efforts to attain the living standards of the West, developing countries have carried out extensive industrialization and they rely on heavy oil imports. Definitely, this is not a sustainable option given the fact that fossil fuel reserves are limited and their heavy usage takes a huge toll on our environment. This paper discusses the concept of Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (IRES) as a means to harness renewable energy resources in order to cater to the energy needs of those millions in remote rural areas of developing countries who still do not have access to the basic amenities of health, water and education. The paper further discusses the integration of regenerative fuel cell (as an energy storage device) with IRES, wherein hydrogen is the energy carrier. A regenerative cell consists of an alkaline electrolyzer, hydrogen storage tank and a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Using the concept of IRES, it is possible to employ village energy centers in order to achieve sustainable development in a cost effective manner. A case study at the end of the paper discusses the employment of IRES with hydrogen storage for a hypothetical remote community.