Potential and econometrics analysis of standalone RE facility for rural community utilization and embedded generation in North-East, Nigeria

This study carried out a comprehensive renewable energy resource assessment for 6 sites in North-East, Nigeria. The main aim was to assess the feasibility and economic viability of wind and solar resources for hybrid energy system that can provide sustainable electricity for rural communities unconnected to the national grid. Rural communities made up of 200 homes, a school and health center was conceived. Specific electric load profile, of 358 kWh per day, with 46 kW primary and 20 kW deferrable peak loads, was planned to match the rural communities. The daily data utilized were obtained from the Nigeria Meteorological Department and comprise of mean wind speeds, global solar radiation, sunshine hours air temperatures, relative humidity for periods spanning 1987–2010. The assessment of the design that will optimally meet the daily load demand with LOLP of 0.01 was carried out by considering 3 standalone applications of PV, wind and diesel, and a hybrid design of wind-PV. The diesel standalone system was taken as the benchmark. The result showed that the hybrid system gave the most cost-effective alternative at 5 different locations (Potiskum, Nguru, Bauchi, Ibi and Yola). However, for Maiduguri, the wind standalone system proved to be the optimal means of renewable electricity in terms of life cycle and levelised costs. The values ranged between $0.17/kWh for Maiduguri (Wind) and $0.40/kWh for Yola (hybrid). This is competitive with grid electricity, which is presently about 0.10/kWh.