Analysis of distributed grid-connected photovoltaic system for a healthcare center in Nigeria

Abstract

A renewable energy system such as a photovoltaic system has nowadays become a common consumer and industrial installation. because of the increased population growth and growing electricity use, renewable energy sources have now become a potential replacement for conventional sources of electricity generation to supply electricity. photovoltaic is a direct electrical transformation of sunlight into electricity that operates at the atomic level of semiconductor materials. the process of generating electric power in an environmentally friendly way is neat, silent, and attractive. electricity is an essential service connected to sustainable growth. nigeria has suffered an electric energy shortage and is in desperate need of solid adoption of alternative energy sources. most remote areas suffer from the lack of supply of electricity from the national grid. lack of electricity supply can lead to malfunctions of systems such as the healthcare system, small and medium enterprises, and the educational system. some diseases cannot be cured or treated easily due to lack of electricity supply. a solar pv system could be the possible solution to such problems the analysis of distributed grid-connected photovoltaic systems at abubakar tafawa balewa university's healthcare centre in bauchi state, nigeria, was accomplished by performing a photovoltaic grid-connected distribution technical analysis and the pv installation systems with a focus on the affected public or community. the hybrid optimization model for electric renewables (homer)was employed to assess the system's output efficiency and determine the amount of electric power generated for distributed grid-connected solar systems. the purpose of this research was to conduct a technical analysis of photovoltaic grid-connected distribution, to assess the sufficiency of pv installation systems with a focus on public or community-based healthcare centres, and to determine the economic factor of photovoltaic power system installations. to get the findings, the pv was constructed with the necessary battery rating and simulated it using homer software. in addition, an electric generator was proposed as a backup. the range of pv output was from 0 - 0.796kw at 3.24% penetration in 4,387hrs per year. the total production was 1,418kwhr/yr at 19.6% capacity factor. the system converter had an operation hour of 4,387 hrs/yr. the minimum energy input was 148kwhr/yr and maximum energy output of 141 kwh/yr with energy losses of 7.41kwhr/yr. according to simulation results, the renewable output divided by the load according to homer standard was 73.5%. the information obtained was used to assess the hourly performance of the pv system in the health care centre for every month of the year. the power outputs of the pv device were compared. thus, the system modelling was divided into two (2); the technical analysis on components size and the economic analysis performed which compare different energy system configuration, and focused on initial capital cost, net present cost (npc), operating cost and cost of energy. these findings are essential to politicians, electricity regulators and pv manufacturers because they can affect clean energy and energy policies.