Abstract
A proposed hybrid system based on diesel generator and solar photovoltaic (PV) as an effective option to power Mkpok Housing estate in Eket has been presented in this work. Running diesel generator constantly in the estate due to epileptic electricity supply from Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) is very expensive and not eco-friendly. The main objective of this proposed system is optimal design of a solar PV powered supply system to produce sustainable power and reduce or augment the use of continual diesel generator sets, resulting in reduced cost of operation, maintenance and pollutant emissions. Solar radiation data was obtained from meteorology station, analysis, proper sizing and specification of the PV system and battery bank were done based on this information. The hourly solar radiation, calculated values were considered, and used as input of the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software to analyze the system. In addition, a comparative study was carried out considering two scenarios of the proposed model system. In the first scenario, the diesel generation, solar PV system was treated as autonomous (or standalone). In the second scenario, the proposed model system was connected to the grid system. It is found that electrifying the housing estate using the proposed hybrid system is very beneficial and competitive with other types of conventional sources due to the fact that it decreases both operating costs and pollutants emissions. Also, results from the HOMER software are realistic and give promising results for on-grid schemes.