Techno-Economic Assessment of Renewable Electricity for Rural Electrification and IT Applications in Selected Sites Across the Geopolitical Zones of Nigeria

This study presents an energy resource assessment for six sites, one from each geo-political zone of Nigeria. It assessed the feasibility and economic viability of RE resources that can provide sustainable electricity and enhance ICT development for rural communities cut off from the national grid. Hypothetical rural communities made up of 200 homes, a school and health centre was conceived. Specific electrical load profile was developed to suite the rural communities. The required load was analyzed as 358 kWh per day, with 46 kW primary peak load and 20 kW deferrable peak load. The meteorological data utilized were obtained from the Nigeria Meteorological Department spanning 1987-2010. Assessment of the design that will optimally meet the daily load demand with LOLP of 0.01 was carried out by considering standalone PV, Wind and Diesel, and a hybrid design of Wind-PV. The Diesel Standalone system was taken as the basis for comparison. The optimization tool employed after the feasibility analysis with RETScreen (R) software was the HOMER software. The outcome showed that the most economically viable alternative for power generation at most of the sites is the wind standalone system. It proved to be the optimal means of producing renewable electricity in terms of life cycle cost and levelised cost of energy which ranged between $0.129/kWh for Jos and $0.3271kWh for Benin City. This is very much competitive with grid electricity. Renewable technologies could then become the subject of rigorous pursuit for rural electrification and ICT development in local communities around the sites.