In recent times, renewable energy-based power systems are being used to address the energy poverty or shortage that is experienced in developing countries. To improve these systems’ applicability, they are used to design a hybrid energy system. It is against this backdrop that this paper focuses on how hybrid energy systems can be designed optimally to address electricity sharing between domestic and productive use in remote communities.

The shift from centralized to distributed generation and the need to address energy shortage and achieve sustainability goals are among the important factors that drive the increasing interests of governments, planners, and other relevant stakeholders in microgrid systems. Apart from the distributed renewable energy resources, fuel cells (FCs) are a clean, pollution-free, highly efficient, flexible, and promising energy resource for microgrid applications that need more attention in research and development terms. Furthermore, they can offer continuous operation and do not require recharging. This paper examines the exciting potential of FCs and their utilization in microgrid systems.

This paper presents a brief overview of solar thermal power generation technologies (parabolic trough, central tower receiver, linear Fresnel reflecting and parabolic dish concentrators) and their possible application in Nigeria.