Isolated Communities
Isolated or Remote communities are towns and villages where utility services are not available. This includes water, sewer, electrical, and gas lines. In these locations importation is usually the only way to get access to these vital services.
For the most part these communities are located a great distance from where these utilities are available. This leads to the increase in cost for such transportation due to the distance of these remote locations or time. With the rise of renewable energy producing methods, these communities have been able to start producing some of their own utilities, such as electrical and water.
An example of an isolated community that requires utility services is The Azores Islands, which is governed by mainland Portugal. These tiny islands are over 1,000 miles from the mainland, increasing the cost it takes to import certain items such as oil and gas for the electrical generating stations.
Most Azorean Islands have now started to implement wind turbine farms to create electricity at a significantly lower price than previously available. One island has even created hydroelectric potential reservoirs to store energy for when the wind turbines are not producing due to lack of wind.
Isolated communities around the globe benefit greatly from the developing renewable energy technologies. Access to cheap electricity can change these communities for the better.