Abstract
This paper presents the use of a novel approach in assessing the generation reliability of a hybrid mini-grid system (HMS) based on the optimal design result obtained from the HOMER software. A typical Nigerian rural community – Lade II in Kwara State was used as a case study where the energy demand for the residential and commercial loads was 2.5MWh/day and 171kWh/day respectively. The optimized HMS results from HOMER comprising of a solar photovoltaic (PV) array (1.5MW), diesel generators (350kW) and battery storage (1200 units) has a combined least net present cost of $4,909,206 and a levelized electricity tariff of $0.396 per kWh. Contrasting the HMS with a diesel-only system for the community, an approximate 97% reduction in all pollutant emissions was observed. Furthermore, fluctuations in diesel fuel prices, variations in average solar insolation, and variations in the solar PV's capital/replacement costs were utilized in conducting a sensitivity analysis for the HMS. The capacity outage probability table (COPT) was utilized in validating the reliability of the simulation results obtained from HOMER. The HMS was observed to experience a load loss of 0.769MW, 0.594MW & 0.419MW when zero, one and two diesel generator(s) respectively were operational for all of the Solar PV's and Batteries being off-line. The loss of load probability (LOLP), loss of load expectation (LOLE), and total expected load loss (ELL) obtained from the COPT were 5.76 × 10−8, 5.0457 × 10−4 hr/yr and 0.025344Watt respectively. The results show the reliability of the HMS and also depicts a highly economical and feasible hybrid energy system.
Highlights
Inadequate power supply has been the bane of Nigeria's industrial and economic development resulting in the wastage of perishable farm produce, the underperformance of agro-allied industries, reduced efficiency in manufacturing and service industries
This work performed the design and techno-economic analysis of a hybrid mini-grid system and validated the reliability of adopting the simulation results obtained from the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) software for a typical rural community in Nigeria
The sensitivity analysis results from varying the solar insolation, diesel fuel prices and solar capital/replacement costs showed an increase in the initial capital, operating cost, total Net Present Cost (NPC) and cost of electricity (COE) by approximately 2.2%, 1.1%, 1.8% and 1.8% respectively when the average solar insolation dropped from 5.3kWh/m2/day to 4.9kWh/m2/day
Summary
Inadequate power supply has been the bane of Nigeria's industrial and economic development resulting in the wastage of perishable farm produce, the underperformance of agro-allied industries, reduced efficiency in manufacturing and service industries. Despite policies enacted by many of the Sub-Saharan Africa & South Asian countries, approximately 2 billion people still lack access to electricity in these areas [2]. To meet their basic electricity needs, many households and commercial centers rely heavily on fossil-based secondary energy sources such as dual-purpose kerosene (DPK), premium motor spirit (PMS), diesel generators etc. The study showed that solar energy will provide the best forms of renewable energy technology that could be harnessed through the use of solar photovoltaic (SPV's) technologies, concentrated solar power (CSP) or solar home systems (SHSs) in many of the locations especially in the northern part of the country [7]
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