Comparative Analysis of Techno-Environmental Design of Wind and Solar Energy for Sustainable Telecommunications Systems in Different Regions of Nigeria

Abraham Olatide Amole, Daniel Oluwaseun Akinyele, Olakunle Elijah Olabode, Oghenetejiri Idogun, Adebimpe Oluwaseun Adeyeye, Bayode Samuel Olarotimi

Abstract


The generally adopted means to power the telecommunication systems is the use of diesel generators but it releases a lot of emissions into the environment that is harmful to both humans and animals. Hence, the need to adopt alternative means through the use of renewable sources such as wind energy, solar energy, biomass, etc., to power telecommunication systems. However, research has shown that the ineffective design of renewable energy systems leads to its failure also, the use of the wrong renewable source for a particular location that does not have enough of the renewable resources for the design might result in system failure. Therefore, the need arises for optimal designs that are environmentally friendly and sustainable for telecommunication systems. In this paper, a comparative analysis of the techno-environmental design of wind and solar energy for sustainable telecommunications systems in different zonal regions was carried out to determine which renewable energy source either wind or solar is suitable for each zonal region of the country based on their renewable resources available to them. The load profile of the six selected BTSs one from each of the six geographical zones of Nigeria was evaluated. The reported solar and wind resources of these locations were obtained from databases. Based on the load profile, the diesel generator, solar PV, and wind turbine were designed and simulated using Homer Pro tool. The performance of the simulated energy systems was evaluated and subsequently analyzed to show the optimal energy system to power the BTSs.  Sensitivity analysis of the diesel generator, solar PV, and wind turbine was carried out by varying one of the system parameters to demonstrate its impact on the system performance. The simulation results demonstrated that for the selected locations namely; Amarawa, Bama, Asokoro, Awka, Bonny, and Ilaro the solar PV demonstrated its technical suitability in terms of electrical production of 3771kWh/yr, 7287kWh/yr, 22724kWh/yr, 16872kWh/yr, 34683kWh/yr, and 38988kWh/yr, respectively, and the unmet load of 0.554kWh/yr, 0.0596kWh/yr, 0.673kWh/yr, 1.440kWh/yr, 0.913kWh/yr, and 11.33kWh/yr, respectively, and its environmental friendliness through zero-emission profiles.  The sensitivity analysis results have shown that it is technically optimal to operate a diesel generator at about 40% maximum load ratio (MLR), based on its ability to optimally harness available solar energy, TAA is the preferred tracking technique for solar PV. It was finally, suggested that wind turbines be operated at 0% turbine performance loss for their optimal performance.

Keywords


Solar PV; Wind Turbine; Diesel Generator; Telecommunication; Techno-Environmental; Sustainability

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DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.20508/ijrer.v11i4.12524.g8329

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