Nigeria is one of the most promising industrial and commercial energy storage markets in Africa. Its core driver stems from an extremely unstable public power grid, leading to heavy reliance on expensive diesel generators by industrial and commercial users. Energy storage systems, especially "photovoltaic-storage-diesel" systems combined with solar photovoltaic power, offer a stable, clean, and more economical power solution. Despite challenges related to financing, exchange rates, and policy, Nigeria's industrial and commercial energy storage market is entering a period of rapid strategic opportunity driven by both energy transition and cost pressures.
Currently, industrial and commercial users in the country mainly rely on diesel generators as backup power. The cost per kilowatt-hour is typically between US$0.30 and US$0.50. A solar-storage-diesel hybrid energy solution is a "golden key" to solving Africa's energy crisis. It perfectly combines local resource endowments (solar energy) with practical needs (stable power supply), finding the optimal balance between economic benefits and environmental sustainability through technological integration and intelligent control. With technological advancements and cost reductions, it will undoubtedly become a key infrastructure driving industrialization, urbanization, and improving people's livelihoods in Africa.
A "Photovoltaic-Storage-Diesel" system is a hybrid energy system that combines three main technologies:
Photovoltaic: Photovoltaic solar panels that generate electricity using the country's abundant solar resources.
Storage energy : An energy storage system, typically a lithium-ion battery pack, used to store excess electricity generated during the day for use at night or on cloudy days.
Diesel generator: A diesel generator that serves as backup and supplementary power, starting when the battery is depleted or when electricity demand is exceptionally high.
Africa is the ideal place to apply photovoltaic-storage-diesel (PSD) solutions for the following reasons:
A huge power gap: More than 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to stable electricity, and even in cities, power rationing and outages are commonplace.
Abundant solar energy resources: Africa boasts the world's richest solar energy resources, with long hours of sunshine, high solar radiation intensity, and enormous development potential.
High diesel generator costs: Many businesses, factories, and communities are forced to rely on expensive diesel generators for power, resulting in high fuel costs, noise, and significant pollution.
Weak and unstable power grid: Existing power grid infrastructure is aging, with high transmission losses, and cannot meet the electricity demands brought about by economic growth.
Rapid development of mobile communications: The widespread deployment of communication base stations requires a stable and reliable power supply, a typical application scenario for PSD-storage-diesel solutions.
Operating Modes:
Daytime: Prioritizes photovoltaic power generation to meet load demands while charging the battery.
Night/Cloudy Day: Prioritizes the use of energy stored in the battery.
During peak electricity demand or low battery levels: Intelligently starts the diesel generator to power the load and simultaneously charge the battery.
Objective: Maximize the utilization of solar energy and minimize diesel generator operating time.
Core Advantages:
Significantly Reduced Operating Costs: Replaces expensive diesel fuel with free solar energy, with a clear return on investment period.
Guaranteed 24/7 Stable Power Supply: Solves the problem of unstable power supply in pure photovoltaic or pure diesel systems.
Environmental Protection and Emission Reduction: Significantly reduces diesel consumption, lowering carbon emissions and noise pollution.
Scalability and Flexibility: The system can gradually increase the capacity of photovoltaic panels and batteries as demand grows.
Perfect Upgrade for Existing Diesel Systems: No need to scrap existing diesel generators; energy saving and emission reduction can be achieved through retrofitting.
Industrial and Commercial
Factory and Mining: Ensures production continuity and avoids significant losses due to power outages.
Large Farms and Agricultural Processing: Used for irrigation, refrigeration, and processing.
Hotels and Resorts: Provides a comfortable environment for guests and reduces high electricity costs.
Communications and Infrastructure
Telecommunications Base Stations: Base stations in many remote areas of Africa rely on this solution for primary or backup power.
Government Agencies and Hospitals: Ensures uninterrupted critical public services.
Community and Off-Grid Applications
Microgrids: Establishes independent power supply systems for villages or communities without grid connection.
Schools and Community Centers: Provides electricity for education and daily life.
Megarevo's photovoltaic-storage-diesel solution primarily consists of an MPS hybrid inverter working in conjunction with energy storage batteries and a photovoltaic system. It boasts advantages of maturity and stability, and to date, it has deployed ≥300MW of photovoltaic-storage-diesel application cases.
Megarevo's MPS hybrid inverter integrates a photovoltaic controller, energy storage converter, isolation transformer, maintenance bypass, and STS, with a on-grid to off-grid switching time of <20ms.
It features built-in diesel generator, load, battery, and photovoltaic interfaces, supporting simultaneous access from multiple energy sources. During grid faults, the photovoltaic system can charge the battery, preventing it from running dry and protecting it. In case of battery failure, it can function as a on-grid photovoltaic inverter, supplying electricity generated by the photovoltaic system to the load or the grid. It also supports diesel generator load rate control, improving the fuel economy of the diesel generator.
Advantages of the solution: Modular design of the DC-DC side photovoltaic system, convenient maintenance, and strong scalability.
Supports 100% unbalanced operation, supporting simultaneous power supply to single-phase and three-phase loads.
AC/DC redundant power supply for the control power source, resulting in more stable system operation.
Supports customized charge and discharge control strategies based on "SOC" and "TIME," allowing for more flexible applications.
Supports 6 units in parallel, enabling the construction of a maximum 3MW photovoltaic-energy storage microgrid system.
Compatible with mainstream photovoltaic modules on the market
≥300MW photovoltaic-energy storage- diesel generator, application cases.
7.5MW/15MWh Off-grid microgrid projects
Located along the railway line in Guinea, Africa, the project site is situated in a remote area without grid access. To address the camp's electricity needs for living and equipment, 10 energy storage systems were deployed, coordinating with ground-mounted photovoltaic power stations and diesel generators for power supply. The inverters utilize 15 Megarevo 500kW MPS hybrid inverters, employing both off-grid operation and diesel generator switching to ensure a stable power supply to the camp.
.png "English")
.png "中文")
.png "Arab")
.png "Spain")
.png "Portugal")
