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Kuwaiti scientists have simulated a 4G and 5G cellular base station, powered by a combination of solar, hydrogen and a diesel generator. The lowest cost of energy was found to be $0.0714/kWh. Researchers at Kuwait University have proposed to power 4G and 5G cellular base stations (BS) with local hybrid solar PV and hydrogen power plants. The team has numerically simulated some configurations of such stations and taken into account the net present cost (NPC), cost of energy (COE) and CO2 emissions. The simulation was performed under the conditions of Hawally, a city in eastern Kuwait. “Renewable energy sources (RES), such as solar and wind, can be used to power EBs and offer sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional grid power or diesel generators (DG),” the academics say. “Using RES to power EBs can also help reduce operational costs and increase grid availability, particularly in remote areas where access to the grid may be limited or unreliable.” The simulation PV power was based on 285 W panels with 17.41% efficiency or 665 W and 21.4%. Storage was based on a 244 Ah battery bank (BB), and inverters were assumed to have 95% efficiency. A DG system with a minimum load ratio of 25% was also implemented for times when renewable production did not cover demand. Electrolyzers with 85% efficiency were also assumed. “The EB load profile was acquired for the period from November 2021 to October 2022,” the group added. “The average annual DC energy is determined to be 122.11 kWh/day, while the average annual AC energy is obtained at 110 kWh/day. In turn, the total average energy amounts to 232.11 kWh/day. The peak DC power is 15.10 kW, and the AC power is about 13.6 kW.” According to the simulation results, when using 285 W, the optimized system size uses 194 panels for a total capacity of 55.1 kW, together with a 34 kW DG, a 5 kW fuel cell (FC), a 5 kW electrolyzer, a 15 kg hydrogen tank, and a 12.7 kW converter. The annual PV output in this case is 97,923 kWh, and the FC output is 766 kWh. Its NPC is $160,075, the COE is $0.0945, and the annual CO2 emission of the DG is 5,317 kg. However, when 665 W is used, the optimized system size uses 95 panels for a total capacity of 63.1 kW, along with a 34 kW DG, a 5 kW FC, a 5 kW electrolyser, a 5 kg hydrogen tank and a 13.5 kW inverter. The annual PV output in this case is 114,304 kWh, and the FC output is 832 kWh. Its NPC is $121,014, its COE is $0.0714 and the annual CO2 emission of the DG is 3,257 kg. By limiting the DG capacity in the PV-HFC-GD-BB model, simulations show that limiting DG to values ??lower than the unrestricted “base” case can reduce NPC (up to 7.71%) and system surface area (up to 9.93%),” the group adds. “Indeed, when using small capacity DG, the system will be forced to increase FC energy production, leading to a significant decrease in CO2 emissions (by 51.12%) while improving the renewable energy fraction (by 1.44%).” The system was presented in “ Hybrid solar PV/hydrogen fuel cell-based cellular base-stations in Kuwait ,” published in the Journal of Engineering Research . Looking ahead, the scientists say they want to study PV-wind-HFC hybrid systems in both grid-connected and off-grid configurations, as well as the use of PV panels with higher peak power output. “It would be interesting to study the possibilities of using a wind turbine by incorporating it into the PV/HFC solar hybrid power system at various locations in Kuwait,” they added. |
