Decarbonizing Telecommunication Sector: Techno-Economic Assessment and Optimization of PV Integration in Base Transceiver Stations in Telecom Sector Spreading across Various Geographically Regions

Abstract

Renewable energy is considered to be sustainable solution to the energy crisis and climate change. The transition to renewable energy needs to be considered on a sectoral basis and one such sector that can potentially decarbonized with renewable energy is the telecommunication sector. Several base transceiver stations (BTS) in remote regions have unstable electric supply systems. Diesel generators (DG) are a common solution to energy problems on such telecommunication sites. However, they have high fuel costs on the global market and contribute to high carbon emissions. Hybrid renewable energy systems may provide a stable power output by integrating multiple energy sources, essential for supplying a dependable and uninterrupted power supply in the context of the telecom sector, notably base transceiver stations (BTS). Deploying such a system might also help BTS, which relies mainly on diesel generators with battery storage backup, reduce operational costs and environmental problems. This study presents the framework for large-scale photovoltaic system penetration based on techno-economic analysis (based on actual on ground data with least assumptions) in base transceiver stations (BTS) encapsulating telecom sector spread across various geographical regions. The proposed framework includes a mathematical model complemented with system design in HOMER software tool. The techno-economic aspects of the study were spread across 2, 12 and 263 sites, along with comparison analysis of photovoltaic system installation with and without energy storage devices, respectively. The sites included both on-grid and off-grid sites, which were exposed to high levels of power outages and subjected to reliance on costly and environmentally hazardous diesel generators. Optimization results showed that the photovoltaic system with a diesel generator and battery storage system provide a promising solution to the energy problem, with an average decrease in LCOE of 29%, DG hour’s reduction by 82% with 92% reduction in carbon emission and a reduction in NPC of 34% due to the high availability of solar. The techno-economic analysis indicated that optimized photovoltaic system and storage results in both on–off grid BTS sites with better options, amid low cost of energy and free accessibility of solar. Moreover, the results spread across geographical regions aiming at a reliable and environmentally friendly option that reduces load on utility grid across on-grid BTS sites and substantial overall reduction in diesel usage.