Hybrid renewable power systems for mobile telephony base stations in developing countries

This paper investigates the possibility of using hybrid Photovoltaic-Wind renewable systems as primary sources of energy to supply mobile telephone Base Transceiver Stations in the rural regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For this purpose, three different areas not served by the grid namely: Kabinda, Mbuji-Mayi and Kamina where solar and wind resources are available, were selected as pilot sites to implement this study. Four different possible options including a hybrid Photovoltaic-Wind, a diesel generator, a pure Photovoltaic and a pure Wind energy system were designed to compare and evaluate their technical performance, economics and environmental impact. Simulations using HOMER are performed to determine the Initial Capital, the Total Net Present Cost, the Cost of Energy as well as the system Capacity Shortage of the different supply options. The selection criteria include the financial viability, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for a project life time of 20 years. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.