Analysis of Solar and Fossil Fuel Powered Base Transceiver Stations

The fast growth of mobile communication technology and the corresponding significant increase in the number of cellular base stations (BSs) has increased operational expenses (OPEX) for mobile operators due to increase in electricity prices and conventional energy consumption. Thus, identifying the various alternative solutions to reduce the OPEX has become a major priority of mobile operators recently. This has led to the need to cut down cost without affecting the efficiency of telecommunication's operations. The solution can be gotten through enabling solar powered systems to power most equipment on BSs. Solar energy is an economically attractive and eco-friendly option. This paper examines solar energy applications to different generations of mobile communications by conducting a comparative analysis of solar-powered and fossil fuel powered BSs based on four aspects namely: energy cost, energy production, air pollution and optimal system cost. The results suggest that solar-powered BSs would be a suitable long-term solution for the mobile cellular network industry. The results show that the solar energy system takes time to adjust into the Nigerian system but on the long run, it is better than implementing the diesel/grid system for Base Transceiver Station (BTS) for daily operations.