GIS Tool for Rural Electrification with Renewable Energies in Latin America Javier Domínguez, Irene Pinedo-Pascua Renewable Energy Department CIEMAT, Science & Innovation Ministry Madrid, Spain javier.dominguez@ciemat.es Abstract— Renewable energy sources are increasingly being considered as feasible and competitive alternatives in the provision of electricity to isolated rural communities. Electrification planning process must consider the geographical characteristics of the renewable energy sources as well as the social and economical particularities of the target communities, contributing to the long and stable operation of the chosen technologies. GIS are able to manage all the data needed in the decision making process, providing means to compare costs of alternative technologies, based on renewable and non-renewable energy sources. This paper discusses the methodology used by the GIS group for regional integration of Renewable Energies and rural electrification (gTIGER). This method, named IntiGIS, aims to provide the analysis tools we use with more flexibility and dynamism, broadening its application possibilities based on the huge chances given by Geographical Information Technologies. In this paper, an example of GIS to rural electrification carried out in Latin American countries is presented. Keywords: rural electrification, Geographical Information Systems, levelized electric cost, decision making, Latin America, renewable energies. I. INTRODUCTION According to the conclusions of the World Energy Outlook Report, over 1.6 billion people in developing countries do not have access to electricity in their home [1]. Electricity is indispensable in most of the daily activities, such as lighting, refrigeration and running of household appliances, and so, is particularly crucial to improve quality of life. Un-electrified communities are usually remote and scattered, and grid extension is not always feasible. In those cases, renewable stand alone technologies arise as potential and competitive solutions to fulfil local electricity demands. Renewable energies are generated from natural resources and are naturally replenished. Renewable energy sources (RES) include wind, sun, waves, tides, biomass and geothermal heat, being the sun the ultimate source of this type of energy. RES are characterized by a wider geographical dispersion compared to conventional sources of energy, making the potential of indigenous RES in a region usually higher than the availability of oil or gas, whose world wide distribution is clearly concentrated in a few countries. Therefore, using renewable energies means that we are taking advantage of indigenous resources and becoming less dependent on energy imports. The paper is organised as follows: a brief state of the art of GIS and renewable energies is presented first; secondly, the huge importance of the use of GIS in the development of renewable energies applications in Latin America is highlighted; finally, the achievements made by our team in the constant development of a GIS model for rural electrification with renewable energies (IntiGIS) are described. II. GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND RENEWABLE ENERGIES There is no doubt about the spatial dimension of RES. In addition to the fact of being “on-site” located sources of energy, the use of RES could promote the local development in the rural regions of less-developed countries, in terms of improving living conditions, encouraging the farming sector and stimulating new social and industrial activities. Spatial and temporal variability of RES could also influence in how adequate the coupling between energy sources potential and electricity demand is planned. Therefore, RES assessment studies must always be linked to the territory and include a rigorous analysis of the geographical reality, taking into account economic, social and environmental aspects. In order to involve the territorial dimension in energy planning processes, GIS has been successfully used in several cases as the main analysis tool [2]. In this sense, we will highlight some relevant examples that contribute to understand the special relations between renewables and GIS. A. Geographical Information Sytems applied to rural electrification One of the first contributions to this field was made by Ariza López [3]. In his study, the competitiveness of the stand alone photovoltaic systems versus grid electricity supply is evaluated. As a result, the studied territory, a province in Southern Spain, is classified upon which electrification option minimises the produced kWh cost. The analysis does not consider the real location of the demand, although GIS functions allow doing so, but it is based on different scenarios in which the most influential economic parameters vary (subsidies, interest rates, ecotaxes, etc.). Taking the resulting scenarios, several demand values ranging from 5 to 50kWh are considered. The results are