Renewable Energy Integration Enhancement Using Energy Storage Technologies

Electric power plants fired using fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide, which contributes to climate change. Currently fossil fuel sources accounts for 87 percent of total electrical power supply in Nigeria. In order to reduce the environmental impact of electric power generation sources both domestically and internationally, renewable sources are being embraced worldwide. Solar energy which is one of the renewable energy sources that would have been the best substitute for fossil fuels in Nigeria is characterized by variability, intermittency, unpredictability, and location dependency and thus required energy storage systems for backup. This paper provides a suitable method to address the pitfall of solar energy source by using a smart battery energy storage technology. In this work an auxiliary battery was used to provide energy when solar radiation is very low or unavailable to charge the main battery. Voltage level sensors were also used to automatically control the operation of the main and auxiliary batteries. With the introduction of the smart operation of the main and auxiliary batteries, the rate of charge and stress on the batteries involved were reduced thereby increasing the battery lifespan and enhancing the electrical power generation sustainability.