Optimisation of Localized Power Generation from Hybrid Renewable Energy Sources for Agri-food Production

Abstract

The recent rising cost of farm produce in Nigeria could be linked to low rainfall as a result of climate change amongst other factors. This research proposes an autonomous irrigation system from a standalone hybrid renewable energy sources (RESs) for Obafemi Awolowo University Farm, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, to combat hunger and climate change. The study considers solar PV, wind and battery storage system for robust energy generation while upholding the ecological and environmental benefits from these RESs. The proposed off-grid architecture was designed and optimized using HOMER Pro software. The evaluation metrics are levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and greenhouse gas emission reduction. The modeling parameters of the farm’s load profile are average daily load demand, daily load demand, peak load, and load factor with the corresponding values of 62.91 kWh/d, 2.62 kW, 9.10 kW and 29%, respectively. The results from the simulation revealed that LCOE of wind turbine and PV solar of the study area are 5.60 $/kWh and 0.169 $/kWh, respectively, for an estimated lifecycle of 15 years. Based on the available surface meteorological data of the study area from NASA, the optimized cost result for proposed farm is given to be solar PV and battery storage system.