Dynamic point selection CoMP enabled hybrid powered green cellular networks

Abstract Integration of renewable energy (RE) harvester has emerged as a long-term solution for the next generation cellular networks for reducing their operational expenditures and CO2 footprints. However, the dynamic nature of RE generation could lead to energy outage and service quality deterioration. Thus, utilization of commercial grid supply in conjunction with RE generators is a more realistic option for sustainable network operations. Therefore, this article proposes an energy-efficient hybrid framework for achieving envisaged green cellular networks. Under the proposed framework, each base station (BS) is equipped with on-site solar energy harvester as the primary energy source along with the traditional grid electricity supplying additional energy demand. Afterward, dynamic point selection type coordinated multi-point transmission technique is integrated for selecting the best serving BS for a user. A comprehensive investigation is carried out in the context of downlink LTE-A cellular networks for evaluating energy efficiency performance of the proposed framework.