Evaluation of the use of solar pv systems for powering mobile telecommunication towers in Uganda.

Abstract

As the reliance on telecommunication services increases due to the need to bring education, health, financial services among others closer to the customers as well as people’s desire to feel connected to far away loved ones, there has been increase in Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) required to meet the growing demand. The BTS equipment need to be powered to serve the purpose. Diesel Generators (DG) which have high operation costs, run on petroleum whose combustion gives off greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that have negative impact on the climate, have been the primary power source for the BTS. However, with increased global push to combat climate change, use of DG must be limited. Several studies highlight solar Photovoltaic (PV) as more sustainable and environmentally friendly with less costs of operations compared to DG. This research carried out on towers belonging to Eaton Towers Uganda by December 2019, centered on determining energy mix in use, reasons for choice of a power source, life cycle costs, environmental effects, system maintenance metrics of Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), Mean Time To repair (MTTR) as well as availability and reliability of solar PV in comparison to DG. Research data was collected through review of existing records and use of questionnaires to get feedback from respondents working in the telecommunication tower space. Used Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis methods to draw comparisons of the environmental and economic impacts of DG and Solar PV as sources of power at the towers for the case of Uganda. Aside availability and costs involved, the study revealed tower company business strategy and contract terms with Mobile Network Operators (MNO) significantly influence choice of power source. Lack of local presence of manufacturers hence long lead times on certain spares like grid transformers, solar panels is a major challenge while energy cost rebates to MNOs was revealed as a limitation for solar PV and grid choice. About more than 98% of the climate change was observed to originate from the operation and maintenance phase of the DG with total GHG emissions at 1.89x106 CO2eq in a period of 20 years. The Net Present Value (NPV) analysis showed, a 54.94% saving on costs if a combination of solar PV system and DG with NPV of $ 215,516.88 is used instead of standalone DG with NPV of $ 478,253.47. As per the study, proper disposal of solar panels, lithium-ion batteries in Uganda is nonexistent and recommends reverse supply chain for these if manufacturers cannot invest in local or regional recycling plants.