TECHNICAL COMPARISON OF HYBRID RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.

In a bid to reduce the negative effect of atmospheric and environmental pollution and its consequent negative effect, a mix of renewable energy generation options is being considered across the globe. Hence, the technical comparison of an ecofriendly, cost-effective, and near zero carbon footprint for sustainable power solutions is still of core interest in the research space. Solar, wind and its hybrids can be further explored to meet the ever-increasing load demand of energy consumers, especially in high energy demand facilities including information technology (IT) services. Critical IT infrastructures represent a core backbone in research institutions, hence the need for hybrid energy solutions is pertinent for increased sustainability. This work compared hybrid energy sources of solar and wind against its independent sources using the IT laboratory in Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi, Nigeria. An appropriate sizing of individual and a hybrid of wind, solar, and battery energy source was done, after which the input-output voltages across the set-ups was measured during peak and off-peak periods for a 300W laboratory IT load. The experimental result showed the input/output peak and off-peak DC voltages for solar, wind, and its hybrid energy are 12.67V/12.02V / 12.47V/11.61V, 12.53V / 11.90V / 12.48V / 11.87V, and 12.78V / 12.09V / 12.57 / 11.95V respectively signifying a significant increase from the on-load peak period while the on-load off-peak period is seen to be lower. The results also show that a hybrid solar-wind-battery system tested at 5 minutes time intervals gives a superior output voltage regulation and efficiency when compared to the solar or wind individual systems. It was concluded that the hybrid system of solar, wind, and battery energy source is an ideal standalone renewable energy power option for IT laboratory in the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]