Analysis of Existing Solar System and Design of an Additional System for a Cell Phone Charging Facility in Nigeria

Abstract

Electricity is the backbone of every business, without it many business operations will not run. Businesses, especially supermarkets will flourish when there is a steady electricity supply. This paper will focus on the analysis of the existing hybrid power system at Better Mart and design of a new cell phone charging system, located at Remlek Bus stop Badore, Ajah Lagos State, Nigeria. The peak electrical load at the supermarket is 44.270 kW, this electrical load needs to be functional for the smooth running of businesses at Better Mart. The existing solar system at Better Mart includes 40 pieces of 250 W solar panels mounted on the roof of the supermarket, 5 MPPT charge controllers, 32.5 kVA inverter and 21 pieces of 12 V/220 Ah luminous battery. A 50 kVA diesel generator and power from the grid supplies power to the supermarket if the battery of the PV system is low. The proposed hybrid power system at Better Mart consists of 240 Trina Duomax PEG14 PV panels with a rated capacity of 320 W each and a total of 76.8 kW which is connected to a 360 VDC bus, 50 kVA Caterpillar generator that runs on diesel, Grid system, Charge controller, 24 kW Fronious Symo Inverter and 30 pieces of each 12 V/220 Ah EnerSys PowerSafe SBS 1800 battery storage. Homer Pro optimizes the input variables of these components to output a proposed system that will suit the electrical load demand of Better Mart. The total power generated by the proposed system is 116,046 kWh/year with a renewable fraction of 92%. The Net Present Cost (N.P.C.) of the proposed system is $31,718.94 and the levelized cost of energy (L.C.O.E) is $0.03671 per kWh while the operating cost per year is $931.04. This new system is recommended to reduce the electricity bills of Better Mart and to support an additional charging facility.