Renewable energy electric sources as a support for multilevel cellular communication networks in various environment conditions – case study

Abstract

Cellular mobile communication networks are experiencing an important evolution with the emerging deployment of 5G networks and the successive decline in the use of previous generations in the years to come. In parallel, policies promoting ecological transition are gaining social impact and economic interest and this seems to be the trend in the near future. In the telecommunications market, the shift between two dominant generations could be an important opportunity to introduce renewable energy sources to green the sector, reducing the carbon footprint of the world-wide extended activity. This work analyses the current situation and provides an insight into the possibilities to incorporate renewable energy supplies, specifically photovoltaics (as it seems to be the most promising among clean electric sources), perhaps combined with small wind turbines in off-grid systems. Paper also compares the characteristics of standard facilities in Spain and Poland, two different European countries in terms of weather and insolation hours.