As the foundation of information distribution, the healthy development of the telecommunications industry is especially important. Solar power generation, a clean energy source, is gradually embedded in the development of the telecommunications industry, adding new vitality to it. Let’s demystify and take a look at the prospects of solar power generation in telecommunications today.
Ⅰ. The major benefits of solar power generation
- Clean and environmental protection: The process of solar power generation does not produce carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and other harmful gases; it will not emit solid waste and will not pollute the air and water resources, which greatly reduces the negative impact on the environment. It is an important energy choice in dealing with climate change and achieving carbon neutral goals. Solar energy is inexhaustible and provides a long-term stable energy guarantee for human social development. It is estimated that the annual solar energy received by the Earth far exceeds the current total energy consumption of mankind, and the potential is huge.
- Economical: With the scale increase of the solar industry, the scale effect promotes further cuts in production cost. For example, in some far-flung areas that are supplied by a traditional power grid, a long-distance transmission line must be laid at high cost and with big loss; solar power can be installed on-site, effectively reducing the transmission cost.
- Adaptability to Region: Solar energy is available almost everywhere in the world, without geographical restrictions. In some areas where it is difficult to cover the power grid, solar power generation can provide a guarantee of power supply. For example, the construction of solar power stations has satisfied the basic demand for electricity from residents in some island areas and helped them become free from dependence on outside power grids.
Ⅱ. Telecommunication Holds Solar Energy Application Scenarios
As the key node of the telecommunication network, communication base stations are numerous and widely distributed. In some areas where the power supply is unstable or remote, traditional grid power supply faces many challenges, and solar power generation provides a reliable solution.
Most base stations in the western region of China are located in remote areas such as mountains and deserts; the power grid extension cost is very high and the power supply stability is poor. A telecom operator has adopted solar power generation systems for base stations in these areas. The solar panel will be mounted on top of the base station, converting the solar energy into electrical energy to store in the battery for the operation of the base station equipment. A week-long rainstorm caused the failure of the local power grid because of flooding and interrupted several base stations dependent on traditional power. However, the base station powered by solar energy, with its energy storage system and stable solar input, always maintains normal operation and ensures smooth communication in the surrounding area. According to statistics, after using solar power, the dependence of these base stations on traditional electricity is reduced by about 60%, reducing the risk of communication interruption caused by power problems.
Ⅲ. the green change of telecom room
The telecommunications equipment in the room is so much, and power consumption is enormous. The innovation of solar power generation has brought great green changes to the computer house. Take China Telecom Baoding Branch as an example: It insists on actively practicing the concept of green and low carbon in the process of development and promotes the special improvement of energy utilization efficiency in the computer house in all aspects. Renovation of the core computer room and office area roofing in Qingyuan, Baigou, Gaobeidian, and Shunping; construction of the photovoltaic base station. In all, there are 550 arranged photovoltaic panels with an installed capacity of 300.42kWp and an annual power generation capacity of 370,000 KWH.
Some of the electricity generated through solar energy is directly fed into the machine room equipment, while the rest serves as a backup for emergencies. After the transformation, the utilization of green energy inside the machine room has surpassed 40%, saving about 42 tons of standard coal consumption every year. The reduction is equivalent to a carbon dioxide emission of about 122 tons. It not only reduces the energy consumption cost of the computer room but also drastically reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, playing an active role in achieving the “double carbon” goal.
Moreover, the demand of a telecommunication room is very high on electrical stability. The photovoltaic generation system uses intelligent power management technology, real-time monitoring and adjustment ability of power supply make the equipment house always in a steady power environment to promote operation efficiency and service life of equipment.
Ⅳ. Savior of communication in remote areas
In the remote areas, the population is scattered, the geographical condition is very complicated, and laying the traditional power grid is too costly and laborious; thus, the communication coverage has been very challenging. Because of its advantages in geographical condition limits and convenient installation, solar power generation has become a lifesaver for remote areas to realize communication coverage.
In Dertu, a remote village in northeast Kenya, the Millennium Villages project brought Ericsson and the pan-African operator Zain to build a green energy site with wind and solar power for powering communication base stations. In the past, due to the lack of reliable power supply and communication infrastructure in the region, residents were very inconvenient to communicate with the outside world, and economic development was also seriously restricted. With this solar-powered communication base station, Dertu finally had a taste of the service brought by mobile communications, calling, health care, and educational resources, thus greatly improving the economy and quality of life of local people.
Similarly, solar power generation also makes important contributions in some remote mountainous areas and islands of telecommunications coverage in China. There is an island that has long utilized the application of diesel power generation to supply the highly cost and instable communication base stations. After the construction of the solar power generation system was introduced at the base station, the stability of the power supply greatly improved; the quality of the communication also saw a significant improvement, and it brought the residents closer to the outer world, thereby promoting local tourism and fishing.
Ⅴ. development status of telecommunication solar power generation
In addition, every telecommunication company over the world throes oneself into the field of solar power generation and continuously starts a series of fruitful exploration and practice. China Telecom Dezhou Branch responded positively to the call for green development initiated by the nation and comprehensively promoted the solar photovoltaic construction project. It skillfully arranged solar panels on the free space of the roof and successfully landed several distributed solar photovoltaic projects. Since the official operation, the total installed capacity of the project has climbed to 80kWp, the cumulative power generation exceeded 12,000 degrees, achieved about 4.57 tons of standard coal saving, and reduced 5.51 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, is expected to reach 100,000 degrees of annual power generation, providing strong support for the company to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Continuously improve solar power generation technology while gradually improving the conversion efficiency of the solar cell and constantly reducing the cost. This will enable high-efficiency photovoltaic panels to convert the solar energy into power in an even more effective way, thus saving equipment footprint and investment costs. Meanwhile, energy storage technology has solved the problem of intermittence in the development of solar power generation. The energy stored by the storage devices such as batteries will be supplied at night or on cloudy days to ensure the stability of power supply for the telecom equipment.
It can be concluded by various market research institutes that, within several years more, this scope is bound to continuously develop on an up trending enlargement scale and therefore lead gradually increasingly new main or assistant telecom base station computers depending upon the use of solar power systems. In particular, with the acceleration of 5G network construction, the energy consumption of 5G base stations is high and requires a higher standard of energy supply; thus, solar power generation, with the advantages of being green and sustainable, will be a very important role in the energy security of 5G networks and accelerate the transformation of the telecommunications industry into a much greener and low-carbon direction.
Ⅵ. Challenges and Solutions
- Technical bottleneck: The photoelectric conversion rate of solar cells is still at an upgrading level, and most of the commercial crystalline silicon solar cells are usually around 20%-25% in conversion efficiency, which severely restricts the effective use of solar energy. The energy storage technology is not mature enough, the energy density of the battery is low, the life is limited, and the cost is high. In some remote areas of the telecommunications base station, due to insufficient energy storage, the base station may still have a power shortage problem when it encounters continuous rainy weather.
- Cost issue: The initial investment cost for the solar power generation system is higher; it includes the purchasing and installation costs of the solar panels, inverters, energy storage equipment, the installation brackets, and other equipment. Relevant data indicates that the medium-sized solar-powered base station would cost about 30%-50% more than the traditional one based on grid electricity. Additionally, operation and maintenance costs cannot be taken for granted from the solar power generation system, which entails that some regular maintenance and overhaul are conducted by professional and technical personnel in ensuring stable operation of the systems, which furthers increases the operation costs.
- Weather dependence: Solar power generation is highly dependent on weather conditions, and its power generation is greatly affected by factors such as light intensity, duration, and weather conditions. On cloudy days, rainy days, or in the winter with short sunshine, solar power generation will be greatly reduced, and may even not meet the normal electricity demand of telecommunications equipment. For example, in southern China during the rainy season, with continuous rainy weather, some solar base stations have power generation plunge sharply, and they have to take out supplementary power supplies to keep operational. That greatly increases operational costs and puts it at high risk due to unstable power supplies.
- Stability of policies: It is crystal clear that the still-developing solar power industry depends mainly on the subsidy policies, tax incentives, etc., offered by the government; yet challenges to policy stability still exist. The adjustment of the policy has the possibility to reduce or cancel the subsidy, thus increasing the cost and risk to the telecommunications enterprises to adopt solar power generation, which influences the enthusiasm of enterprises and long-term investment planning. If the adjustment of subsidy policy occurs, the economic benefits of some solar power projects could be influenced and it may face a losing situation.
Ⅶ. Coping strategies
- Technological innovation: It should continue researching and developing new solar cell materials. With advantages such as low cost and a simple preparation process, the conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells has surpassed 25%. Therefore, this technology is likely to contribute much to effectively raising the conversion efficiency of photovoltaic power generation. In addition, energy storage technology will be developed with greater density in energy, long service life of batteries, and at lower costs.
- Policy support: The relevant policy should continue to be introduced and improved by the government to provide great support for telecom solar power generation. Subsidy policies should be continuously offered to reduce the investment cost of telecommunications enterprises, thus improving their enthusiasm; there is a need to provide tax incentives, including reduction of import duties for solar power equipment, corporate income tax, among others.
- Cost control: The telecom enterprise should try to reduce costs by optimizing the design of the system and procurement management. In system design, considering a reasonable capacity with regard to the size of solar panels and energy storage equipment according to the power use of the communications equipment to avoid too much investment; the inverter is highly efficient, intelligent, and energy-conserving. The centralized procurement of equipment can reduce the cost in equipment procurement, form a long-term cooperative relationship with suppliers in procurement management, enhance the operation and maintenance management of solar power generation systems, and scientifically formulate a maintenance plan, which can improve the reliability and service life of equipment and decrease the operation and maintenance cost.
- Diversified energy complementarity: To decrease the dependence on one single solar energy source, diversified energy complementarity can be adopted. Combining solar energy with wind energy, water energy, and other renewable energy resources, a multi-energy complementary power supply system can be built according to the characteristics of energy resources in different regions. For instance, in some areas that are rich in wind resources, solar power is combined with wind power; during the day when the sun is full, solar power is used, and at night or when the wind is large, wind power is used to achieve a stable supply of energy. In the meantime, to make sure the telecommunication equipment works normally in bad weather, it is designed to be equipped with a certain backup power supply, such as diesel generators.
The unique charm and unlimited potential of telecommunications solar power generation are making a bright road for the sustainable development of the telecommunications industry. It not only provides a reliable energy guarantee for communication equipment and ensures the unimpeded transmission of information but also plays an important role in environmental protection, energy conservation, and emission reduction.
Let us pay attention to the development of telecom solar power generation and look forward to it bringing more surprises and changes for us in the future, contributing to a green, intelligent, and interconnected future.