Techno-Economic Feasibility of Hybrid Energy System Versus Grid for a Different Level of Grid Reliability at Cellular Base Stations: A case of Ethio telecom
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Date
2023-09
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The rapid growth of cellular technology needs a significant attention to energy consumption in cellular networks. This is especially crucial in developing countries like Ethiopia, where the electric supply and grid power distribution are unreliable. In Ethio telecom, grid as the primary energy source for its communication infrastructure. Approximately 70% of the Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) are connected to the grid. Some BTS operate with grid and backup batteries, while others have standby diesel generators and backup batteries. Due to frequent grid outages, some sites are working with diesel generators for a long time whereas the other site service is disrupted, and increased operational costs, increase fuel consumption, degraded Quality of Service(QoS), Quality of Experience(QoE), and reduced the revenue. This study focuses on the techno-economic feasibility of Grid connected PV hybrid energy system(HES) to provide a reliable and cost-efficient energy solution for BTS. The sites are classified based on grid outage frequency, maintenance time, climatic zones and 54 sites are represented for study . Input parameters are obtained from Ethio telecom's Network Ecosystem(NetEco) and Power Engineering Department, as well as solar radiation and temperature data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).To design the optimal hybrid energy system and components, optimization techniques and energy control strategies are employed, by utilizing the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) Pro software tool. The aim is to minimize the Net Present Cost (NPC) and Cost of Energy (COE) of the hybrid energy system by considering different power configurations. The results indicate that the proposed Grid/PV/BSS and Grid/PV/DG/BSS configurations have lower NPC and COE compared to the conventional power system. Grid/PV/DG/BSS configuration is feasible for frequent grid interruptions, and took long time grid maintenance and the proposed hybrid power system saved fuel consumptionqof the site from 5,393 to 61,843L/yr.
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Keywords
Hybrid Energy system(HES), HOMER Pro, BTS, grid Outage, Net Eco, NASA, NPC, Quality of Service (QoS), and Quality of Experience (QoE).