Techno-economic feasibility analysis of an off-grid hybrid energy system for rural electrification in Nigeria

Rural electrification improves the quality of life and wellbeing of the rural communities. Diesel generators and woods are the main source of energy for the rural dwellers who are not connected to electricity grid, these sources of energy are not cost effective and are detrimental to the community health due to the release of gaseous pollutants from these sources of energy. Therefore, the use of renewable energy sources as an alternative source of energy for the rural communities become imperative in order to improve socioeconomic activities of these rural communities. In this study, a feasibility analysis on the use of a hybrid solar-wind-battery-diesel system for providing electricity to a rural secondary school is investigated. A village (Moriki) in north western Nigeria is selected for this study with the aim of taking the same study to other parts of the country. A simulation software Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) is employed to carry out the feasibility study to come up with an optimal configuration in terms of Net Present Cost (NPC) and Cost of Energy (COE). Hybrid solar PV-battery system is the optimal configuration simulated by HOMER with NPC of $18,161 and COE of $0.233/kWh was obtained for a sensitivity case of 6% nominal discount rate. Sensitivity analysis was carried out where wind speed, solar radiation, and nominal discount rate were considered as the sensitive parameters to investigate their impacts on the NPC and COE, the result shows that the sensitivity variables has impact on the NPC and COE. The results also showed a magnificent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission by 100% because the optimal configuration has 100% renewable fraction