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Lack of steady power supply is one of the major problems of the banking industry of many emerging economies, such as Nigeria, particularly as the banks strive to modernize and offer quality services, such as electronic banking (special issue, 2012). Banks have become adept at generating their own off-grid power. This is particularly so in Nigeria where availability of power is uncertain. This has typically been achieved by running diesel generators either as supplements to the national grid or exclusively. The use of diesel generators to ensure continuous power supply has the disadvantage of increasing the greenhouse gas emission which has a negative impact on the environment. Moreover, the expense on energy (diesel generator) accounts for a significant share of the operational cost of these banks.
Solar energy is one of the in-exhaustible energy sources available for the implementation of renewable energy system on banking in Nigeria. Therefore, integration of solar photovoltaic with readily available standalone diesel generator (or generally known as the hybrid PV/diesel system) will see potential application in banking industry. The use of renewable energy solutions consists in replacing (partially or totally) the diesel generator by renewable energy (solar panels or a wind turbine) as the main power supply of the Bank.
Nowadays, using renewable energy sources (RESs) such as wind and solar power for generation of energy is increasing (Bakhtiar et al, 2012), as power system are steadily growing with ever larger capacity. Formerly separated power systems are interconnected to each other. Modern power systems have evolved into systems of very large size (Tawfiq, 2013). Combinations of different but complementary energy generation systems based on renewable or mixed energy (renewable energy with a backup diesel generator) are known as hybrid energy system. These different configurations – Diesel-Battery; Solar-Diesel-Battery; Solar-Battery, etc (CAT, 2011) are being deployed for Banking purposes. According to (Taylor, 2011), the configuration of a HPS (Hybrid Power Systems) depends on three factors: Resource (renewable source), Load, and Cost [capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX)]. (Faruk et al, 2012) opined that HPS provide a realistic alternative for conventional energy sources in terms of economy (fuel consumption and maintenance) and environmentally benign although the CAPEX of such systems is high. However, the life-cycle cost is comparatively less, considering the cost of emissions.
The major problem faced by power generation using Hybrid system is the fluctuation in load demand and renewable resource (solar radiation). Therefore, the major concern in the design of an electric power system that utilizes renewable energy source is the accurate selection of system components that can economically satisfy the load demand. Based on the costs of components, fuel, labour, transport and maintenance, it is desired to evaluate the most cost-effective sizing of all components to meet the predicated peak loads. Sizing improves performance, economy and reliability. In the above optimization problem, hybrid system sizing is done with the aim of minimizing net present costs while meeting a given demand reliably and cost-effectively. One method of doing this is to incorporate computer simulation model for Hybrid power systems.
The purpose of this paper is to hybridize the diesel generator source system with PV panels through design and optimization and demonstrate the potential of renewable energies to replace (partially or totally) diesel as a source of power for Banking system. The aim is to determine the suitability of hybrid PV/diesel system with battery in banking industry, in the perspective of technical and economical analysis.