Feasibility of Photovoltaic (PV) System for Rural Cell Sites in Pakistan

Exponential growth in cellular services has fueled the penetration of telecommunication industry in rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). However, the scarcity of electricity at such localities has limited the growth and operation of network operators. One solution to overcome the problem includes utilization of diesel generator along with grids for continuous supply. However, this solution requires high fuel consumption, extensive maintenance and elevated delivery cost, which makes its operation less efficient. Photo-voltaic (PV) systems are anticipated to solve the problem by providing necessary power at increased reliability and performance. This paper proposes the use PV system along with grids at rural areas of KPK to increase the operation and reliability of base stations (BTS’s). Feasibility of the proposed design is checked via HOMER Software. It is shown that the proposed PV grid hybrid system is more efficient as compared to the diesel and standalone PV system at the rural cell sites in KPK, Pakistan. Keywords—Cellular networks; Base station; PV system; Feasibility