Energy Supply of a Telecommunications Center Dedicated to the Operation of Radio Equipment in Urban Areas: Case Study of the Hybrid Diesel Generator-Solar Photovoltaic-Electrical Grid System

Abstract

The objective of this work is to provide a technical and economic analysis of the energy optimization of an existing hybrid system supplying electricity to a telecommunications site. The site, characterized by a 50-meter-high, four-legged self-supporting tower made of angular sections with a permissible load of 18.6 m 2 and 40 m/s, is located in an urban area. However, the radio equipment at base stations (BTS) requires almost constant energy availability to ensure the operation of mobile and fixed telephone services, data, and critical infrastructure. The energy sources powering this equipment in the present study are hybrid systems, including diesel generator (DG), solar photovoltaics (PV), the national grid, and battery storage. However, combining these different energy sources to power radio equipment poses a major challenge in terms of choosing the best configuration. In this context, knowing the priority configuration type appears to be a viable solution for improving the energy reliability of the telecom site, reducing costs (investment, operation, maintenance, etc.), and limiting the carbon footprint. To address this concern, a numerical simulation based on HOMER Pro software was adopted to model the energy loads of the telecommunications center. The results show that the PV/grid configuration is the optimal solution for achieving an optimal compromise, with a significant reduction in net present cost and energy cost, respectively 76.75% and 76.77% compared to the second-best configuration (PV/battery/grid). From a technical standpoint, the optimal hybrid system allows for a total electricity production of 16,586 kWh/year shared between photovoltaics and the national grid, ensuring complete coverage of the continuous load without any capacity deficit and an electricity surplus of 20.2%.