ABSTRACT
Availability and utilization of energy is essential for social and economic development of a society and it is an essential resource required to improve human standard of living and quality of life. In Nigeria, access to reliable and stable supply of electricity is a major challenge for both the urban and rural dwellers. However, this problem is more significant in the rural areas and communities where only about 10% of the population have to access to electricity [1]. Even in the urban areas where grid-connected electricity is available, access to electricity is still a big challenge due to low and inadequate generation and distribution capacity. At the time of preparing this article, the peak electricity generation capacity in Nigeria is 3119.4 MW;
which is about 24.4% of the peak electricity demand forecast of 12,800 MW for the same period [2]. This situation can be improved upon by using renewable energy resources, especially solar energy, to supplement the grid electricity supply in Nigeria. However, due to intermittent nature of these resources, they may not be suitable and reliable as stand-alone energy systems. Therefore, integration of both renewable energy conversion systems with storage facility could be a reliable energy system option in many locations in Nigeria.
