The Potential of Stand-Alone PV/Wind Hybrid Energy System for ICT Center in Rural Environments

Abstract

This paper presents the design of an optimized stand-alone PV/Wind hybrid energy system for Information and Communication Technology ( ICT) Center in Rural environments of Kauru (Kaduna State) in Northern Nigeria with a daily load of 24 kwh d -1 . Solar radiation and wind speed for the design of the system were obtained from the NASA Surface Meteorology and solar energy website at a location of 10° 39' N latitude and 8° 09' E longitude, with annual average solar radiation of 5.64 kWh m -2 d -1 and annual average wind speed of 2.5 m s -1 . The patterns of load consumption by ICT centre are studied and suitably modeled for optimization using National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) software. The proposed renewable Hybrid PV/Wind system was simulated using the model which results in two different topologies. From the simulation results, the PV/Wind system solution was considered to be the best energy option (solution) for the ICT Centre. This optimization study indicates that energy requirements to provide electricity for ICT center in Kauru (Kaduna State) with the least cost could be accomplished by a combination of 8 kW PV array, 1 unit 7.5 kW BWC Excel-R wind turbine, 1.5 kW inverter and 24 Hoppecke 24 OPzS 30000 batteries. The system configuration suggested also benefits from 33% excess electricity supply which allows for future ICT network expansion and power needs. This system also saves $6,341 when compared with PV only system due to reduced number of battery unit. A detailed design and description of expected performance of the PV/Wind hybrid system are presented in this paper.