DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLAR CHARGING STATION FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATION
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Date
2022
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Abstract
At the core of the growth and development of any Nation is the availability of energy for driving
the other spheres of the economy. Unfortunately, while the world is moving towards new trends
in providing clean and affordable energy, many underdeveloped, and developing countries are
still stuck with the challenge of inadequate exploration, and utilization of conventional energy
sources, and this has kept these nations backwards as compared to the developed world. This
study addresses a sustainable solution, which can serve as a framework for addressing the
challenge of clean and affordable energy availability for meeting basic needs in Nigeria. Of
particular interest among the various renewable energy sources is solar energy which is an
abundant renewable energy source in Nigeria. This study discusses the current state of energy
generation, transmission, and distribution in Nigeria, and also provides an insight into Nigeria’s
renewable energy potential with a focus on solar energy. The various photovoltaic technologies
were also discussed, and the future of solar energy exploration too. A detailed design of solar
energy charging station geared at meeting basic electricity need of people living in rural areas
was presented, and the performance of this system was evaluated using the European Commission
PV-GIS simulation software, and data obtained from NASA’s database. The results showed that
the system is a viable one both technically, and economically to meeting the basic electrical
demand of rural dwellers and can be adopted on a larger scale by the Government.
Recommendations were also made on how this work can be further advanced.