Renewable systems are especially suited for electricity generation in remote areas but, where high reliability of the electricity supply is required, a hybrid system including electricity storage could be the only solution to avoid the lack of feasibility in single renewable systems. In this paper a hybrid system composed by photovoltaic panels, a biomass gasifier and a battery bank is presented. The system was designed and constructed at the Distributed Energy Resources Laboratory (LabDER) in order to supply electricity to a laboratory complex in the Institut Superieur des Techniques Appliquees, Democratic Republic of Congo (ISTA-DRC). System behavior was also tested in LabDER prior being installed and operated in the final place. Design characteristics and commissioning results are presented together with the experimental verification of the capability to fulfill the demand with very low fluctuations in the generated electricity supply. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.