Distributed photovoltaic power generation for energy-poor households: The Nigerian perspective

Energy is a necessity in any human society. While value is added to the lives of people in societies with good energy systems, energy-poor communities are pauperized. Electricity is needed for essential human activities. Nigeria with a population of about 160 million, despite its huge non-renewable and renewable energy resources, generates below 5,000MW. Only about 64 million people have access to electricity but with load shedding and unsteady supply at best. Most rural communities are impoverished by lack of access to energy and are rendered socially and economically handicapped. This paper highlights the types and benefits of distributed generation for developing countries. Different scenarios of energy consumption by a typical village household are studied assuming moderate loads; application of off-grid photovoltaic (PV) electricity is proposed as a solution to improve the way of life of the energy-poor homes. HOMER software is used for modeling and analyzing the PV systems and the cost. The paper is concluded with some recommendations and directions for future research.