Rural electrification in South Mediterranean countries mostly done with solar home systems, which only provide service for a very limited number of appliances (lights). This service gives an image that “PV is for the poor”, and is not sufficient for stimulation of economic activities in rural areas. Fuel generators, also used, give more electrical power, but suffer high maintenance cost, irregular availability of fuel, and are mostly used to give a limited energy service during 6 to 14 hours per day only. The solution is the employment of hybrid systems using a mix of renewable energies and fossil fuel , and by providing energy service for the population of a rural community via a micro grid.

The integrated approach for rural electrification using such multi user hybrid grids has been tested for electrification in Europe, but still has to be adapted to the different social, economical and environmental context in the South Mediterranean countries.