Unified Green Village Electricity Project Concept:
A Suitable Model for Reliable Renewable Energy
Deployment in Nigeria
Ifeanyi B. Orajaka
Green Village Electricity Enterprises
9 Chief Ejims Street Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Email: ifeanyi.b.orajaka@gmail.com
Abstract – As a result of the ironic pressing energy impossible to connect these areas judging by their distances
insufficiency challenges in the Nigerian power sector and the from the grid lines.
looming effects of global climate change, the need arises for This paper discusses the various sources of generating
engineers to design and implement reliable renewable energy electricity in Nigeria, highlighting the pros and cons of each.
systems to mitigate the duo. This paper proffers the Green It compares the energy generation index of the Nigerian state
Village Electricity Project as a suitable model for providing with that of the developed countries of the world.
off-grid solar electricity to remote settlements in Nigeria Consequently, the paper suggests the adoption of solar as a
while mitigating climate change on a Micro scale. viable alternative/ supplement to conventional energy sources
The paper also highlights possible challenges, in the country.
implementation barriers and operational lessons learnt in Furthermore, the paper examines the economic
embarking on humanitarian energy projects in developing implications of adopting solar electricity while pointing out
countries of the world. Most importantly, the paper presents a the various economic and environmental advantages of its
bottom - up scenario of the actual needs/ expectations of the utilization both to the primary consumer and globally. Most
Bottom of the Pyramid inhabitants of rural West Africa importantly, the project highlights the socio-cultural
towards ensuring the implementation of acceptable and expectations of rural West Africa from community based
sustainable energy development projects in the region using Energy development projects while pointing out real-time
the Niger-Delta Nigeria as a case study. lessons learnt.
Ultimately, the paper presents the Green Village
I. INTRODUCTION
Electricity Project, a brainchild of the IEEE Presidents’
Reliable access to energy is an important pre-requisite
Change the World Students Competition which is intended to
for development. In its resolution declaring the year 2012 as
serve as a suitable Micro-scaled model for reliable solar
'The International Year of Sustainable Energy for All', the
electricity deployment in Nigeria so as to jump-start
United Nations General Assembly reiterated the compelling
economic sustainability.
need of access to affordable modern energy services to attain
sustainable development and to achieve the millennium II. RENEWABLE ENERGY
development goals (MDGs)[1]. By definition, renewable energy are those energy sources
The Nigerian state has over the years been experiencing that are replenishing in nature, which do not contribute to
power supply, transmission and distribution problems. The further global warming and global climate change [3]. They
country has an installed capacity of 15,000 MegaWatts of are also those sources of energy and/or power that non-
electricity drawn from such sources as hydro, coal, steam, polluting in nature and are fundamentally environmental
and gas generation stations, but the amount of energy friendly. The sources of renewable energy are:
available for distribution as at end of April 2013 was a paltry 1. Solar:
4000MegaWatts which cannot be compared with her 2. Wind
population of over 170 million inhabitants [2]. This energy 3. Geothermal
per capita of 10.67Watts has been one of the major setbacks 4. Oxygen/ Hydrogen
to her rapid socio-economic development. 5. Timber
Equally conventional power stations are obsolete with 6. Fruits and Vegetables
little or no maintenance operations resulting in poor 7. Meat from Animals
performances and high carbon and green house gases 8. Water
emission in this era when our environment is threatened by
Of all these sources the most adopted form of global
serious environmental problems caused by the emission these
renewable energy are; wind, solar, biomass, water and
gases. Furthermore, the areas connected to the national grid
geothermal.
lack constant supply of electricity not to mention those living
in remote regions of the country that have no hope of
receiving electricity. Equally it would be economically
978-1-4799-2402-8/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 87 IEEE 2013 Global Humanitarian Technology Conference
III. SOLAR ELECTRICITY CASE STUDY
Solar Electricity is the generation of electricity from the
radiations of the sun through the use of photovoltaic cells
[See Fig. 3].
Fig 5. Solar insolation distribution
The nation has a total of about 50MW of solar electricity
supply from about 1000 installed PV arrays in various remote
Fig. 3 A Photovoltaic cell energies. Equally, solar electricity has been proved to have
diverse areas of application. This flexibility in utilization has
The generated power in DC form can be converted to AC enhanced the call for is utilization. Recent developments
through the use of inverters for a wide range of applications. allow the integration of energy from various sources for both
The basic components of solar electricity generation are: commercial and domestic utilization.
a. Sun However, solar electricity has the following
b. Solar Cell Module disadvantages;
c. Charge Controller a. High installation cost
d. Battery (Energy Storage) b. Need large area for solar panels
e. Inverter (DC to AC) [see Fig. 4] c. Production is affected by weather conditions.
Nevertheless, the positive attributes of solar electricity
greatly outweighs the negatives.
IV. GREEN VILLAGE ELECTRICITY PROJECT
The Green Village Electricity Project (A.K.A. Project
Spread the Light “PSL”) is a student design project and was a
competitor in the maiden IEEE Presidents’ Change the World
Students Project Competition. The project is designed to
provide through off-grid solar electricity supply the energy
needs of a small remote settlement. This includes basic
lighting, powering of small gadgets, providing electricity for
the settlements health centre and water bore-hole [see Fig 6].
It also incorporates a battery franchise network aimed at
extending electricity to other settlements surrounding the
Fig 4. Solar electricity generation process prime community. The project is sited in Egbeke Town,
Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The project emerged fourth (4th) out of about two
In recent times, solar electricity generation has found hundred (200) competitors globally and equally emerged a
wide spread application in many developing and developed state winner (Rivers State) in the 2011 UNDP/ Bank of
countries of the world. This is as a result of the relative Industry Nigeria’s Access to Renewable Energy Project
availability of the primary source (sunlight), environmental Challenge out of about 300 project entries nationwide. The
friendliness, zero pollution, low or no maintenance and the aim of the project is to canvass the concept of renewable
use of no traditional fuel. In China for instance, solar energy in Nigeria particularly off-grid energy for remote
electricity is the major supply source in the Tibet region and settlements while helping the country overcome her climate
other remote villages where grid connecting is both change challenges. The project has been modified with
practically and economically challenging. technical and economic contributions from the Community
Solutions Initiative (CSI) 1 team of the IEEE-PES to proffer
an integrated platform for affordable renewable energy
solutions to off-grid rural dwellers.
Equally, the project was developed to inspire youths in
developing countries towards creativity and productivity.
Most importantly, the project was designed to serve as a Bank of Industry Nigeria Reps, GVEP Team and university
model for reliable renewable energy deployment throughout staff collaborated to provide overall sanctioning of the project
Nigeria specifically in remote settlements where it will be implementation. Periodic evaluations will be conducted to
most economically and technically effective to implement assess the effectiveness of PSL based on its evaluation
such micro systems. indices as stipulated in this proposal. Equally, the
sustainability of the project is highlighted and discussed in a
later section of the proposal.
V. PROJECT TECHNICAL DETAILS
Microgrids are localized grouping of generation storage
and loads. A microgrid can have a single point of connection
to a centralized grid and can either be operated in grid-
connected mode or it can be islanded. There have been many
projects that try to implement microgrids in rural developing
regions. Microgrids are seen as an effective way to integrate
distributed non-grid controlled generation and also provide
for a higher local quality of service [5]. They are especially
relevant for rural electrification because of the lack of a
predictable central grid connection.
The GVEP project design details are as represented
below:
SYSTEM LOAD ANALYSIS
a. Hourly consumption per house
Bulbs Sockets Tolerance Total
(5Watts (60Watts
each) each)
4 2 - -
Total 20 120 20 160
(Watts)
b. Hourly utility for power house
Bulbs Street Tolerance Total
(5Watts Lights
each) (5Watts
each)
2 28 - -
Total 10 140 50 200
(Watts)
c. Total No. of houses: 20
d. Portable Battery Rental Recharging:
1.5 kiloWatts
Fig. 6 Project Deliverables Chart. e. Total System Utility= (20*160) + 200 + 1500=
4.9 KiloWatts.
The project was specifically designed to suit the Nigerian
state which has high availability of sun-hours. The project SYSTEM DESIGN PARAMETERS
team is constituted of fresh graduates of the Energy expected from solar panels= 1.4*Total
Electrical/Electronics Department, Federal University of Load= 1.4*4.9KW= 6.84KW/ Hr
Technology, Owerri, Imo State. The project utilised student Panel Ratings:
volunteers who will assist in the wiring of the individual Power=285 Watts
houses, installation of the solar module and in the Voltage= 36 volts DC
sensitization phase. PSL has an estimated execution time of No of solar panels= 6840/285 ≈ 24 Panels.
twelve (12) months July 2012 – June 2013 followed by the
planned maintenance phase follows. Charge Controller Rating: 80 Amperes x 2 qty
GVEP operates with six full and part time staff members. (this is to withstand the high DC current at this terminal)
In addition, a Governing Body made up of community
leaders, NGO/Government agencies representatives, UNDP/
Inverter Rating: VI. PROJECT TIME LINE
Power: 6 Kilowatts The project is intended to be rolled out as follows [see
Primary DC voltage input = 48 VDC Fig. 7];
Output Voltage= 220 Volts
NB: (this high input DC voltage is designed to drop the
surging current at the charger and to ensure that a high
fidelity output voltage is maintained irrespective of
distribution losses and other parameters)
Battery Rating
Amp-Hr rating= 200 AHR
Terminal voltage= 48 volts
f. Bank Capacity Computation
No of batteries (N)= (L*T) / (V*AH*0.7)
where:
L= system hourly load: 4.9KW.
T= No. of Hours of no sunlight (16 hrs 16:00 hrs –
08:00 hrs of next day).
V= battery voltage, 48 volts. Fig. 7 Project Implementation Schedule
AH= Battery Amp-Hr rating
0.7= system efficiency. The execution of phases 3 & 4 of the project will continue
after the end of the first year of project execution.
N= (4900*16)/ (48*200*0.7) ≈ 16 batteries. The project team worked with the IEEE Foundation, the
Transmission/ Distribution: IEEE-PES CSI, the UNDP/ BOI ATRE Project and the
Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA)
Transmission & Distribution is a hybrid of Ring, Serial & towards its implementation. Through adequate publicity, the
Star topologies. project team intends to advocate the benefits of widespread
Ring: covers the settlement perimeter. implementation of renewable energy solutions within the
Serial: transmits to four clusters of five houses each. country and beyond.
Star: distributes to five houses within a cluster. Included in the project scope is a sensitization scheme to
Cabling: educate the benefiting community(s) on basic electricity
The 2.5mm cable will be used for the internal wiring principles and optimal utilization of the system.
of the individual houses and power house.
The 5mm TRS flex cable will be used for the VII. BUSINESS DELIVERY MODEL
overhead Star distribution cablings from the Low To a great extent, the success of the projects lies with the
Voltage Distribution Board to the Individual houses. collaboration of the project team with the community locals
The 16mm aluminium cable was used for the from the earliest phases of the implementation cycle [4]. This
transmission cablings from the ring circuit to a low ensured first hand recognition of community needs and that
voltage Distribution board. the project met their expectations thereby fostering its
acceptance and sustainability. The project adopted an energy
PANEL ARRANGEMENT rental franchise system for the deployment of its Portable
The solar panels are designed to be arrayed 6 panels Battery Kits (PBKs) and a pre-paid metering revenue
per stand, resulting in 4 stands for the total number collection system for the micro-grid. These methodologies
of 24 panels in the system. were introduced to provide adequate control measures for
both user classes.
VIII. INTEGRATED CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTION
In a bid to ultimately provide a complete green
environment with no or minimal emission, the project has
been expanded to incorporate other clean energy solutions.
These solutions which are co-winners in the UNDP/ BOI
Project challenge are aimed at providing clean cooking
solutions to greatly reduce the emission levels associated with
cooking in remote settlements which primarily depended on
wood, coal and other fossil fuel sources.
These alternatives include; humanitarian energy development projects and saving
1. Clean cook stoves millions of donor dollars, special attention must be paid to the
2. Wood Briquette needs of the BOP prior to the design and deployment of such
3. Portable Solar lamps technologies in the field.
4. Cooking gels
They have proven to be viable alternatives to X. CONCLUSION
conventional cooking and lighting energy sources with little It is well recognised that the Nigerian power sector needs
or no associated emission rates. to be repositioned so as to meet up with challenges in the
The unified GVEP concept plans to incorporate these global scene.
technologies towards the establishment of a totally green The Nigerian power sector needs to be augmented by a
fuelled community circles which collectively will make a solar solution especially in poor rural off-grid regions.
global impact. The GVEP solution aims to be a viable candidate for
country-wide expansion through micro-grids and other solar
IX. HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS CHALLENGES. electricity distribution models.
The task of implementing humanitarian projects is
difficult especially in developing countries of the world XI. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
where several essential development elements are lacking. We thankfully acknowledge the contribution of various
This section highlights these challenges and proffers development stakeholders, who have been the key resource in
solutions on how to control these challenges. shaping the initiative to its present form. The financial
Following the survey carried out recently (September, support and guidance of the IEEE Foundation, IEEE-PES-
2012), these challenges have been identified: CSI, IEEE Nigeria Section, the UNDP/ Bank of Industry
1. Unavailability of a reliable data bank Nigeria’s Access to Renewable Energy Project Office, the
2. Political instability Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency. We are ever
3. Corruption and several sabotaging interests grateful to the management and staff of WINORAC
4. Ignorance of the project capabilities by policy Engineering & Tech. Services Ltd, Total Support Energy
makers Group amongst other endless list of contributors.
5. Poor infrastructure
6. Weak economies of scale XII. REFERENCES
7. Poor awareness levels on the part of the citizenry [1] United Nations General Assembly, International Year for
Sustainable Energy for all, Resolution 65/151 of 21st
In addition to these, the following three concerns also
January, 2011.
work against the successful implementation of similar
[2] www.power.gov.ng, 15th April, 2013.
projects in the target market [6]:
[3] www.wikipedia.org/Renewable+energy.html 20th May,
1. Lack of ability to pay on the part of the locals
2013.
2. Lack of time of the target population
[4] www.communitysolutionsinitiative.org March, 2013.
3. Importance of ownership.
[5] Javia Rosa & Co. (2012). Efficient Microgrid
These challenges can however be managed by proper Management System for Electricity Distribution in
negotiations and scope verification methodologies with Emerging Regions; Global Humanitarian Technology
relevant stakeholders. Conference, 2013; Page 1.
Recent surveys conducted (September, 2012) and current [6] Bernard Van Acker & Co. (2013). Flexicurity for
field deployment experiences present a notable disparity Investment Reimbursement of Micro Renewable Electric
between Western developed humanitarian energy solutions Energy Systems, Global Humanitarian Technology
for the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) and the actual needs/ Conference 2012; Page 1.
expectations of the BOP. Western humanitarian energy
solution providers are of the ideology that the most prevalent
needs of the BOP are basic lighting and an appreciable level
of energy to power low power gadgets such as radios, cell
phones etc. Whereas the inhabitants at the BOP who have
now become culturally used to close of productive activities
at dusk are seeking higher level of energy to enable them
enjoy the same or something close to what their counterparts
in various cities are enjoying. They seek electricity not to be
able to see, read or play at night but to be able to power home
entertainment, cool water and drinks (considering the hot
climate in the region), and in sparing cases to be able to iron
their most cherished sets of clothing for special occasions.
This disparity has been a major challenge to those of us who
are in the fore front of implementing such energy solutions to
the target audience. In other to mitigate this challenge which
may invariably stall the sustainability of such targeted
