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Dr. Abdulhameed Babatunde Owolabi

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Guest Editor

Regional Leading Research Center for Smart Energy Systems, School of Convergence & Fusion Systems Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Republic of Korea
Interests: energy modeling optimization; renewable energy planning; energy transition; energy decarbonization; energy management; techno-economic analysis; on-grid and off-grid modeling; renewable energy technologies; energy efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Jeung-Soo Huh

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Guest Editor

School of Material Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Interests: climate change; hybrid renewable energy systems; feasibility analysis; PV material technology; energy management; clean energy transition; energy modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Most countries in the Global South are naturally endowed with diverse, renewable, solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy sources. These sources can potentially provide both rural villages and urban cities with sufficient elecritcity. There is a need to invest in renewable energy sources and end the reliance on non-renewable energy sources, which accounts for 70% of the total electricity generated in that region. However, access to electricity remains a key policy issue for most of the Global South, and it is important to increase renewable energy use and improve access to electricity for all.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, review articles, and case studies/reports on using sustainable energy tools such as RETScreen, HOMER, LEAP, MESSAGE, OSeMOSYS, WASP, TIMES, and PVsyst for energy planning in the Global South.

This Special Collection.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

Energy decarbonization modeling;
Energy transition modeling;
On-grid and off-grid renewable energy modelling;
Renewable energy financing and investment;
Electric vehicles and hydrogen technology;
Energy storage system;
Smart energy systems;
Techno-economic analysis;
Smart transportation modeling;
Energy efficiency and management.

Dr. Abdulhameed Babatunde Owolabi
Prof. Dr. Jeung-Soo Huh
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainable energy
renewable energy
modeling
energy decarbonization
feasibility analysis
energy optimization
clean transition
energy policy
energy financing

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 2671 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Techno-Economic Optimization of Mini-Grid Systems in Nigeria: A Case Study of a PV–Battery–Diesel Hybrid System

by Hillary Iruka Elegeonye, Abdulhameed Babatunde Owolabi, Olayinka Soledayo Ohunakin, Abdulfatai Olatunji Yakub, Abdullahi Yahaya, Noel Ngando Same, Dongjun Suh and Jeung-Soo Huh

Energies 2023, 16(12), 4645; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16124645 - 11 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1556

Abstract

This paper presents a feasibility analysis of the technical, environmental, and economic sustainability of an existing mini-grid technology system in Nigeria. The study investigates the cost and other operational parameters of the Gbamu-Gbamu solar–battery–diesel hybrid mini-grid, specifically the 85 kWp solar PV installation in the Ijebu East Local Government area of Ogun state. Situated within the Owo forest in South-West Nigeria, the mini-grid aims to reduce the effects of global warming and promote sustainable technological development in rural communities by increasing energy access through renewable sources. To assess the system’s viability, this research utilized RETScreen Expert software to validate the techno-economic and environmental sustainability of the installed mini-grid solar–PV–battery–diesel system in the region. Climatic data for the study were obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The results demonstrate that the system is economically feasible and environmentally viable, as indicated by the positive net present value (NPV) and an average monthly irradiance of 4.78 kW/h/m². Furthermore, the system achieved a 92.9% reduction in GHG emissions, provided a reasonable payback period of four years, and enabled a yearly electricity export of 203 MWh. These findings highlight the system’s potential to enhance energy access and mitigate climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning Sustainable Energy Systems in the Global South Using Energy Modeling Software)

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16 pages, 3688 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of a Solar Hybrid Electricity Generation System for a Rural Community in River State, Nigeria

by Kelvin Nkalo Ukoima, Abdulhameed Babatunde Owolabi, Abdulfatai Olatunji Yakub, Noel Ngando Same, Dongjun Suh and Jeung-Soo Huh

Energies 2023, 16(8), 3431; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16083431 - 13 Apr 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1794

Abstract

This paper presents the technical and economic analysis of a solar–wind electricity generation system to meet the power requirements of a rural community (Okorobo-Ile Town in Rivers State, Nigeria) using the Renewable—energy and Energy—efficiency Technology Screening (RETScreen) software. The entire load estimation of the region was classified into high class, middle class, and lower class. Two annual electricity export rates were considered: 0.1 USD/KWh and 0.2 USD/KWh. The results from the proposed energy model comprising a 600 kW PV system and a 50 kW wind system showed that with a USD 870,000 initial cost and USD 9600 O&M cost, the annual value of the electricity generated was 902 MWh. The simple payback was 5.1 years with a net present value of USD 3,409,532 when 0.2 USD/KWh was used as the annual export rate instead of 10.8 years for simple payback and an NPV of USD 1,173,766 when 0.1 USD/KWh was used. Thus, there is a potential to install a wind–solar system with average weather conditions of 4.27 kWh/m²/d for the solar irradiance and 3.2 m/s for the wind speed at a 10 m hub height using a rate of 0.2 USD/KWh as the electricity export rate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning Sustainable Energy Systems in the Global South Using Energy Modeling Software)

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