Feasibility and optimal design of a hybrid power system for rural electrification for a small village

A hybrid renewable energy system is at present accepted globally, as the best option for rural electrification particularly in areas where grid extension is infeasible. However, the need for hybrid design to be optimal in terms of operation and component selection serves as a challenge in obtaining reliable electricity at a minimum cost. In this work, the feasibility of installing a small hydropower into an existing water supply dam and the development of an optimal sizing optimization model for a small village-Itapaji, Nigeria were carried out. The developed hybrid power system (HPS) model consists of solar photovoltaic, small hydropower, battery and diesel generator. The optimal sizing of the system’s components for optimum configuration was carried out using Genetic Algorithm. The hybrid model’s results were compared with hybrid optimization model for electric renewable (HOMER) using correlation coefficient (r) and root mean square error (RMSE) to verify its validity. The results of the simulation obtained from the developed model showed better correlation coefficient (r) of 0.88 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.001 when compared to that of HOMER. This will serve as a guide for the power system engineers in the feasibility assessment and optimal design of HPS for rural electrification

MODELING AND SIMULATION OF SMALL HYDRO-SOLAR PV HYBRID GENERATING SYSTEM FOR COMPLEMENTARY POWER SUPPLY IN A METROPOLITAN CITY

In this work, a grid-connected small hydro-solar PV hybrid power system (HPS) was modeled to complement electricity supply in Ado-Ekiti metropolis in Nigeria, and hence, investigated the steady state stability of the distribution networks with and without HPS integration. Consumers’ load audit was carried out through measurement of apparent load at peak periods on each outgoing cable riser from the low voltage circuit of the distribution transformer using clamp-on ammeter which represents loads on respective 11 kV feeders. The solar PV system employed the use of JAP6-72-30/4BB solar PV module and average solar radiation intensity of 4.95 w/m 2 was considered when sizing the solar PV power system. The designed and modeled HPS was integrated into the grid through a hydro inverter and five numbers of parallel-connected 2000 kVA grid-tie solar PV inverters. Simulation analysis of the distribution networks with and without renewable energy integration was carried out using DigSILENT power factory. This work analyzed two scenarios for each of the distribution networks. Simulation results indicated that the networks were stable as evident in the analyses of the renewable grid integration and notable improvement on profile voltage (pu) of all the 11 kV distribution networks were observed

Foot-and-mouth disease virus strains and examination of exposure factors associated with seropositivity of cattle herds in Nigeria during 2007–2009

New outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in cattle herds in Nigeria during 2007-2009. The objectives of the study reported here were (i) to identify current FMD virus strains circulating in cattle herds and (ii) to identify exposure factors associated with a seropositive diagnosis of FMD in cattle herds. This study provides evidence that FMD virus serotypes O, A and SAT-2 were co-circulating in cattle herds in Nigeria during 2007-2009. Cattle herds in a neighborhood affected with FMD had higher odds of being classified as seropositive to FMD, compared to herds that were in a neighborhood not affected with FMD (OR = 16.27; 95% CI = 3.61, 18.74; P < 0.01). Cattle herds that share water points along the trek routes with other cattle herds had higher odds of being classified as seropositive to FMD (adjusted OR = 4.15; 95% CI = 0.92, 18.74; P < 0.06). Results from this study can be used by veterinary services in Nigeria and neighboring countries to evaluate current or future FMD control and eradication programs.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/prevetme

An overview on reliability assessment in power systems using CI approaches

A Computational Intelligence (CI) approach is one of the main trending and potent data dealing out and processing instruments to unravel and resolve difficult and hard reliability crisis and it takes an important position in intelligent reliability analysis and management of data. Nevertheless, just few little broad reviews have recapitulated the current attempts of Computational Intelligence (CI) in reliability assessment in power systems. There are many methods in reliability assessment with the aim to prolong the life cycles of a system, to maximize profit and predict the life cycle of assets or systems within an organization especially in electric power distribution systems. Sustaining an uninterrupted electrical energy supply is a pointer of affluence and nationwide growth. The general background of reliability assessment in power system distribution using computational intelligence, some computational intelligence techniques, reliability engineering, literature reviews, theoretical or conceptual frameworks, methods of reliability assessment and conclusions was discussed. The anticipated and proposed technique has the aptitude to significantly reduce the needed period for reliability investigation in distribution networks because the distribution network needs an algorithm that can evaluate, assess, measure and update the reliability indices and system performance within a short time. It can also manage outages data on assets and on the entire system for quick and rapid decisions making as well as can prevent catastrophic failures. Those listed above would be taken care of if the proposed method is utilized. This overview or review may be deemed as valuable assistance for anybody doing research

Productive performance of rabbits as influenced by source of fibre and chemical treatment of dietary maize cob sawdust and mango leaves

An experiment was conducted using 36 growing rabbits of mixed breeds and sexes with initial liveweight of 658g to evaluate the effect of feeding diets containing three different fibre sources, Maize Cob (MC); Sawdust (SD); and Mango Leaves (ML) which were subjected to three processing methods viz: untreated, NaOH and Urea treated. The fibre materials were incorporated such that the various experimental diets had approximately 12% crude fibre. The rabbits were randomly allocated to nine experimental diets such that four individually caged rabbits served as replicates for each dietary treatment. The feeding trial lasted for 56 days. Although a slight decline in dry matter value of all the fibre sources was observed as a result of chemical treatment, the crude protein content increased with treatment with maize cob being an exception where the crude protein value was reduced as a result of NaOH treatment. Dietary treatments had significant (