OFF-GRID SOLUTIONS TO THE ELECTRICITY NEEDS OF THE RIVERINE AREAS OF RIVERS STATE

Abstract

Access to electricity in the riverine areas of rivers state is very poor. The area is mostly off grid as a result of the intricacy in extending the national grid through its difficult mangrove swamp terrain. This study investigated potential sources of energy in the riverine areas and to find out the cost effective off-grid option in meeting their electricity needs. Onsite visitations and observations, wind speed measurements using anemometer, and literatures show that the area is home to hydro resources, with average wind speed of about 7.22m/s at the coast line, and solar radiation of 4.39kWh/m2. A linear optimization model of a power system to meet a local demand was simulated using HOMER software with a view of solar, wind and diesel energy resources. The result revealed that the optimal configuration option among ten feasible options is a hybrid wind/diesel/battery system. The least cost of electricity is 22.21N/kWh while the diesel generator which is the existing system was higher at 108.72N/kWh. The result also showed that adding renewable energy fraction to the existing diesel system was seen to be economical at 20% fraction and above. In the light of these, access to electricity in the riverine areas of rivers state can be greatly increase by harnessing available renewable energy resources in the area for off grid electrification with backup from diesel generator pending sufficient power from the national grid and subsequent extension