Renewable energy development in rural areas of Iran

Nashmil Afsharzade, Abdolhamid Papzan, Mehdi Ashjaee, Sohrab Delangizan, Steven Van Passel and Hossein Azadi

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, vol. 65, issue C, 743-755

Abstract: Iran's energy system is extremely dependent on fossil fuels which, in turn, have led to problems such as fossil fuels depletion, social, economic and environmental damage and territorial imbalance. The country should therefore design a sustainable energy system based on clean energy a s well as renewable energy. Accordingly, and given that Iran's rural areas suffer from the unsustainable energy system, it is necessary to integrate renewable energy into comprehensive development programs in general, and into rural development programs, specifically. This review paper answers the following questions: Why is renewable energy important for Iran at national and rural levels? How is renewable energy related to sustainable rural development? and What are the challenges in the promotion of renewable energy technologies in Iran? The paper concludes that although renewable energy has potential for development in Iran's rural areas due to environmental, social and economic advantages, it could face some infrastructural, managerial, socio-cultural and economic challenges. Accordingly, aggressive and innovative policy making is required to meet these challenges.

Keywords: Energy consumption; Fossil fuels; Clean energy; Sustainable energy; Sustainable rural development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.042

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