Journal of Climate Change, Disaster Risk and Resilience Studies
Design, Techno-Economic evaluation and Environmental Sus-tainability Analyses of a Hybrid SolarâBiogas Electricity Gen-eration System for Small Scale Agricultural Production in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
Izu godstime
Access to reliable and sustainable electricity remains a major challenge for agricultural production in many developing countries, particularly in rural communities where dependence on fossil fuel generators results in high operating costs and significant environmental impacts. This study presents the design, optimization, techno-economic evaluation, and environmental sustainability assessment of a hybrid solar–biogas power system for decentralized agricultural electrification in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. The hybrid system comprises a 37.62KWp photovoltaic array, a 33m3 anaerobic biogas digester, a 7.5kW biogas generator, a 96.8 kWh battery energy storage system, and a 25kW bidirectional converter. System optimization was performed using HOMER Pro, while Aspen Plus was employed to simulate the anaerobic digestion process and biogas production. The environmental performance of the optimized system was evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment LCA in SimaPro with the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint H method and the ecoinvent v3.9 database.
The optimized configuration generated 66,428.0kWh year−1, satisfying an annual electrical demand of 66,312.8kWh with a 100% renewable energy fraction, zero unmet load, zero capacity shortage, and only 0.17% excess electricity, demonstrating effective component sizing and energy management. The economic analysis indicated that the system is financially viable, with an Initial Capital Cost of USD 72,845�?�116.55 million, Net Present Cost of USD 91,624�?�146.60 million, a Levelized Cost of Energy of USD 0.078kWh−1 �?�124.80 kWh−1, and a Simple Payback Period of 5.8 years. The Life Cycle Assessment further revealed a Global Warming Potential of 0.142kg CO2-eq kWh−1, together with relatively low impacts in ecotoxicity, resource depletion, acidification, eutrophication, and water consumption compared with conventional fossil-fuel-based electricity generation. Environmental hotspot analysis identified photovoltaic module manufacturing and battery production as the dominant contributors to life-cycle impacts, while the utilization of cattle manure for biogas production significantly reduced methane emissions and improved waste management.
Overall, the integrated technical, economic, and environmental assessments demonstrate that the proposed hybrid solar– biogas energy system is a reliable, economically competitive, and environmentally sustainable solution for decentralized agricultural electrification. The findings provide a practical framework for the deployment of hybrid renewable energy systems in Nigeria and other developing countries with similar climatic conditions and agricultural resources.