Comprehensive techno-economic and environmental impact study of a localised photovoltaic power system (PPS) for off-grid communities

• A 62.7 kW PV plant is modelled for a demand of 175 kWh/d with 1% annual load growth.
• The plant’s yield and losses are 1723 kWh/kW and 502 kWh/kW, respectively.
• The plant’s maximum monthly mean efficiency is 13.85%.
• Availability of 98.91–99.56% is achieved over the year.
• The plant’s estimated life cycle emission rate is 50 gCO2/kWh.

This study presents detailed techno-economic and environmental impact assessment of a photovoltaic power system (PPS) for a small off-grid community. The PPS is designed to meet a community’s load demand of ∼63,900 kWh, with an annual load growth of 1% over a 25-year project lifespan. Its performance is assessed in terms of the power output, energy production, yield and losses, and the efficiency. Furthermore, detailed battery state of charge (SoC) and reliability analysis is presented. The paper uses the life cycle evaluation technique to analyse the system’s economic and environmental performances, using Bununu community in Bauchi State, Nigeria as a case study. Results show that the loss of energy probability and the availability of 0.44–1.09% and 98.91–99.56%, respectively, can be achieved with PPS sizes of 50–62.7 kW. In addition, the proposed PPS’s life cycle costs range from ∼48 to 49.5% of the values obtained for the diesel plant. The PPS’s life cycle emission rate is 50 gCO2-eq/kWh, which is ∼7.9–8.7% of the diesel plant’s emission rates. The proposed PPS’s GWP ranges from 4307 to 5400 kgCO2-eq. These outputs are evaluated by comparing them with some existing results in the literature, and can be useful for planning stand-alone PPS for remote locations around the world.