Hybrid BTS Solar Energy Generating Systems For Telecom

Product Description

Solar Energy Solutions for Telecom

With more than six billion subscribers, the cellular networking and communications industry is growing rapidly. To support this growth in the subscriber base, cellular operators have expanded their coverage and capacity by deploying additional network infrastructure. This in turn has increased the energy consumption of cellular networks and their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. With more than three million

base stations (BSs) worldwide, cellular networks currently contribute to around 3% of the worldwide energy consumption and 2% of carbon emissions . Also, it is predicted that the carbon emissions of information and communication technologies (ICT) will increase from 170 metric-tons in 2014 to 235 metric-tons by 2020. This increase in the power consumption and carbon footprint of cellular networks has

led to various initiatives for “green” solutions from telecom providers, government agencies and researcher.

One of the key components of a cellular network is the base station. BSs are categorized according to their power consumption in descending order as: macro, micro, mini and femto. Among these, macro base stations are the primary ones in terms of deployment and have power consumption ranging from 0.5 to 2 kW. BSs consume around 60% of the

overall power consumption in cellular networks. Thus one of the most promising solutions for green cellular networks is BSs that are powered by solar energy. Base stations that are powered by energy harvested from solar radiation not only reduce the carbon footprint of cellular networks, they can also be implemented with lower capital cost as compared to those using grid or conventional sources of energy.

There is a second factor driving the interest in solar powered base stations. In the recent past, the bulk of the growth in the deployment of cellular base stations has been in parts of the world such as Africa and Asia where the penetration of cellular communication is still low. Unfortunately, many of these regions lack reliable grid connectivity and telecom operators are thus forced to use conventional sources such as diesel to power the base stations, leading to higher operating costs and emissions. For example, studies indicate that of the 4,00,000 base stations in India, more than 70% face power cuts for more than 8 hours a day. As a result, the telecom industry in India consumes more than 2 billion liters of diesel per year, spending around US$ 1.4 billion and producing more than 5 metric-tons of carbon dioxide .

Current estimates suggest that there are 3,20,100 off-grid (i.e. without any grid connectivity) and 7,01,000 bad-grid (i.e. connected to a grid supply with frequent power outages, loss of phase, or fluctuating voltages) BSs in the world . The offgrid and bad-grid BSs are predicted to grow by 22% and 13% by the year 2020, respectively. Around 80% of these would be installed in African and Asian countries. It is noteworthy that although many of the countries in these regions have poor grid connectivity, they are rich in terms of solar resources. Consequently, solar powered BSs are a viable and attractive option in these regions