Mobile users in developing markets are notoriously quick to change
their service providers. Many people carry several SIM cards and will use the
one that provides the cheapest service. When outside of cities, the decision
will simply be made based on the coverage available. Therefore, mobile
operators are ‘racing’ to cover even those hard to reach, unserved areas.
If
there is no electricity grid available or if the grid cannot be relied on to
provide power to the mobile site to satisfy the quality requirements of the
operator and the users, the site needs to run independently from external power
sources. The traditional way of doing this is to equip the site with twin diesel generators, running in
shifts to power the site.
Whereas diesel is highly polluting, cumbersome and
the price is unpredictable, renewable energy has none of those challenges.
Although the initial investment needed to build a renewable energy powered site
can be substantially higher than a diesel powered one, the total cost of
ownership ‘turns the tables’, making renewable an attractive choice for
operators.
The
most common renewable energy sources are solar, wind, bio fuel, hydro and
geothermal. In addition, fuel cells are often grouped into this category even
though they are not renewable per se, but can be seen as an alternative energy
source as well.
The sun is a fantastic source of energy. Every hour it provides
the Earth with as much energy as it takes us all nearly a year to consume. The
challenge is to harvest it efficiently enough to provide the power needed.
When
designing a base station site that will use renewable energy it is important to
understand that each location is different. While energy efficiency is a common
requirement for all the sites, the optimum mix of energy sources depends on the
amount of energy needed but also on the location and available resources.
One
single power source solution is seldom the best choice, but rather a hybrid, a
combination of different power sources can provide the best-end result. For
example, a combination of solar and wind can be cheaper than just solar, as the
wind turbine can compensate during darker periods, so that the solar panels do
not need to be dimensioned according to the darkest month to ensure a ‘solid
performance’ throughout the year.
As discussed earlier, even though the initial
capital expenditure is greater in renewable power sites than the traditional diesel powered
sites, the total cost of ownership is lower. A well designed site provides
sustainable operational expenditure savings and can have payback time as short
as one to two years. Maintenance costs are minimal and maintenance can be
scheduled to take place in conjunction with other site visits or, as it is can
be quite a straightforward activity, can be outsourced to a local entity.
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