Design of Affordable Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Nigeria: A Cost Implication Analysis

The demand for electricity generation around the world has significantly increased over the past decades, this is due to the growth in the world’s population, industrialization, economic activities and technological innovation; with various countries opting for alternative sources of renewable energy sources to replace the use of fossil fuel sources of energy whose availability has rapidly declined. The Nigeria power sector has experienced a major setback in power generation, distribution and the power consumption rates in the country has been very low compare to other African countries in electricity per capita. This study examines the designing of an affordable solar photovoltaic (PV) system in Nigeria using the cost and benefit method. Furthermore, a proposed PV electrification model was designed to calculate the Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR), Net Present Value (NPV) and Sensitivity analysis of installing a mini-grid system within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The result however showed that the system efficiency was calculated as FIRR was 17.5% and the NPV was at N320,897,841 which suggest that the project on this scale is economically viable in the FCT, making the life cycle cost per kWh, including the grid extension cost relatively low. Furthermore, the result obtained revealed that electricity generated from solar energy can contribute to the country’s economy and also eliminate or cut the pollution and toxic waste from the burning excess fossil fuel that releases large amount of CO2 into the atmosphere which affects human health and the environment.