HYBRID GENSETS FOR CELL TOWERS

1 Abstract

The diesel generator sets currently drive cell tower systems, especially those in the rugged
terrain. Diesel power generating has various drawbacks that do not make it the best
alternative. Kenya is generally gifted with renewables that can be used for delivery of power
on such towers. The research was conducted site, where Hybrid Powered System was
installed.

Based on the data acquired, an HPS system was designed. The design procedure comprised
mainly choosing the ideal mix of HPS system parts. The study also examined the cost of
implementing and running the intended power system as well as the current online system
on site.

Current on-site statistics show that this location contains an abundance of RES. The
collected data is consistent with the data obtained from the secondary sources. The
optimisation of the system structure suggests that a cost of KES2.6 million for Net Present
Cost can be expected compared to the existing system of KES21 million. For the month of
October, the simulated Cost of Energy (COE) is roughly 10/kWh for Kenya Shillings (KES),
which is better then 21/kWh for the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC).

Table of Contents
1 Abstract.......................................................................................................................i
2 Introduction...............................................................................................................1
2.1 Background information.........................................................................................1
2.2 Problem Statement................................................................................................2
3 Research Objectives..................................................................................................2
4 Literature Review......................................................................................................3
 4.1 Renewable energy sources (RES)....................................................................3
4.2 Hybrid Power Systems (HPS)..........................................................................3
4.2.1 HPS design..........................................................................................................5

4.2.2 HPS Design Optimization...................................................................................6

4.3 HOMER and NPC............................................................................................6

4.4 Summary...........................................................................................................7
5 Research Methodology..............................................................................................7
5.1 Energy demand and renewable resources availability......................................7
5.1.1 Load/demand assessment....................................................................................7

5.1.2 Wind Resource Assessment.................................................................................7

5.2 Hybrid power system design............................................................................8

6 Results and Discussions.............................................................................................9
6.1 Tower system BTS and Transmission load......................................................9
6.2 Renewable energy sources availability..........................................................12
6.2.1 Primary data collection and analysis.................................................................12

6.3 HPS design.....................................................................................................12

6.3.1 HPS modelling...................................................................................................13

6.4 Economic viability of the HPS.......................................................................18

7 Conclusions and Recommendation.........................................................................18
7.1 Conclusions....................................................................................................18
7.2 Recommendations..........................................................................................19
References..................................................................................................................19
Appendices.................................................................................................................22

List of Figures

Figure 1: Basic HPS...................................................................................................................3

Figure 2: HPS possibilities.........................................................................................................4
Figure 3:Solar-wind hybrid power system.................................................................................5
Figure 4: Hourly BTS load pattern for the tower.......................................................................9
Figure 5: Hourly lighting load pattern for the tower................................................................10
Figure 6: Prototype HPS..........................................................................................................11
Figure 7:Cost summary............................................................................................................14
Figure 8: Battery operation......................................................................................................15
Figure 9: RES penetration daily profile...................................................................................15
Figure 10: Excess electrical production...................................................................................16
Figure 11: Total RES output daily profile................................................................................16

List of Figures

Table 1: RES and Diesel Generation Comparison.....................................................................1

Table 2: Overview of simulation tools.......................................................................................6
Table 3: The eight (6) best simulation results..........................................................................13
2 Introduction
2.1 Background information

Energy must be created and efficiently used for the growth of the community and the
nation as a whole (Lukuyu and Cardell, 2014). Energy is supposed to be a
fundamental requirement for the modern way of life. (Hoque et al., 2012). RES
(Kumar and Garg, 2013) was increasingly interested in the costs and environmental
problems of conventional electricity sources (Kumar and Garg, 2013). Technologies
consequently need to be developed to create energy from all energy sources in an
environmentally sustainable manner. The efficient conservation of energy resources
should likewise be given adequate importance (Muralikrishna and Lakshminarayana,
2008).

Diesel generator sets are fulfilled with electrical power requirements for most rural
communicating towers. The main grid expansion into small populations, especially in
harsh terrain, is linked to substantial capital expenditures (Lukuyu and Cardell, 2014).
However, the usage of a gasoline generator leads to several environmental problems
and to significant O&M expenses, shown in Table 1 below (Notton et al., 2011).

Table 1: RES and Diesel Generation Comparison

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Hills having an estimated elevation of 1943 m above sea level are Aitong, Rift
Valley, Kenya (Latitude: 1.18o; Length: 35,25o). Two 8 kVA diesel engines are now
supplying electricity from the Telkom Kenya tower system in Aitong, but there are
plenty of RES (Choge et al., 2013). For the two diesel generators the annual Capital
Expenditure (Capex) and Operational Expenditure (OPEX) amounts to around Usd
50000 and Usd 31000 each. The present diesel generator is described in Appendix 1.
This system has an average power demand of around 1500 W.
The current research investigated the feasibility of replacing diesel production with
solar and wind power supplies in the Aitong tower system, complimented by battery
bank storage, and as backup source by diesel generation. A prototype was constructed
and installed on location for actual data collection in order to compare it to secondary
data from earlier studies and weather stations. A HPS was constructed based on the
solar and wind data collected from the investigated system, as well as the system's
economic viability.
The results of the study provide Telkom with new power possibilities. The option
proposed by such results is likely to result in decreased O&M costs.

2.2 Problem Statement

Production of electricity by diesel engines causes pollution while electricity supplies

to remotely positioned towers from national grids are expensive. Thus, an
environmentally acceptable, cost-effective and widely available sustainable power
supply system is needed.

3 Research Objectives

This study focused on the design of an HPS. In case of failures, substitution and
others which make up the RES capturing components not available, an optimal diesel
generator acting as backup supply is used.

1. To examine the site of the Aitong tower system for solar and wind energy
sources.
2. To develop and optimize a communication tower system HPS

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 3. To evaluate HPS as a power source for the tour system' s economic
viability

4 Literature Review

4.1 Renewable energy sources (RES)

Solar energy can be utilized directly in the way solars and hydroelectric energy, wind
energy and biomass energy are used indirectly as is the case. RES comprises solar,
wind, hydro, geothermal, bio-energy, sea energy and so on. There are other options to
non-renewable energy sources. Although they are "alternative energy" instead of
"renewable energies," they are more effective than earlier technologies in using
existing energy. The utilization of renewable energy minimizes cost and reduce
pollution (Zobaa and Bansal, 2011), (Adejumobi et al., 2011).

4.2 Hybrid Power Systems (HPS)

The hybrid power system utilizes at least two modes of electricity generation sources
(Hoque et al., 2012), which can be photovoltaic systems, hydrogen generation etc.
HPS is independent and find common application in rural areas (Goel and Ali, 2014).
HPS addresses fuel flexibility, efficiency, trustworthiness, emissions, economies and
cost-effectiveness limitations (Setiawan and Nayar, 2006). The schematic chart of a
simple HPS with numerous sources illustrated in Figure 1 below (Faruk, 2012).

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 Figure 1: Basic HPS

HPS usually consists of alternative power generators, CC distribution system, DC,

charges, RES, power storage systems (Deb et al., 2012).

The design and functionality components and the interaction between them is
presented in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: HPS possibilities

Diesel generator act as a backup power system in the event of lack of RES. Usually
the system is adjusted to avoid constantly requiring a diesel generator, but other
components must be installed. Some wind turbines provide DC electricity as their
main output. Typically these devices are within a 10 kW or less range. They can
accommodate both AC and DC loads with appropriate controllers or converters. In
some hybrid power systems, PV panels are a valuable addition to wind turbines.
Inherently, PV panels create DC power, and consequently generate a separate DC bus

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and storage. They can be linked to a specialized converter in larger systems and serve
in such instance as a de facto AC power.
Excess electrical power is dissipated in the network via a dump load. During periods
of high renewables and a low load, such a surplus could result in insecurity in energy
supply.
The range of control functions is incorporated into most hybrid power systems. Some
control functions are performed by special controls that are components of the
system. The system monitoring control is performed in general (SSC).
Wind and solar PV is an individual HPS for most applications which is an appropriate
hybrid combination for seasonal changes (Dalwadi and Mehta, 2012). They are also
complementary during lean times, because both are seasonal. The HPS typical system
is shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3:Solar-wind hybrid power system

4.2.1 HPS design

The renewable and conventional energy sources used in telecommunications are in

several configurations (Faruk, 2012). The HPS is therefore chosen to enhance
available resources against different restrictions in order to increase performance,
economies and dependability.

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4.2.2 HPS Design Optimization

HPS optimization examines processes for NPC, Total Annualized Cost (TAC) and
Cost Savings selection of components (SV). Then, the RES components are designed
to deliver energy efficiency, reliability and economy (Bopp and Lippkau, 2008).
Several tools have been employed in the design of hybrid systems such as tools for
dimensioning, simulating instruments, research tools and mini-grid design tools.
However, the technique to manual design is arduous, time-consuming and error-
prone.
Table 2 provide categories of several tools.

Table 2: Overview of simulation tools

4.3 HOMER and NPC

HOMER is mainly a software optimization application which simulates and scales

different RES system setups based on NPC (Mohammed et al., 2014), (Rehman and
Al-Hadhrami, 2010).
The estimate evaluates all costs incurred over the project life, including initial cost of
installation, project lifespan component substitution etc.
HOMER calculates the NPC by;

Capital recovery factor is calculated as;

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Rescue value (SV) is calculated as;

4.4 Summary

Renewable energy is free and does not pollute the environment. The usage of RES
also saves investors money. Different forms of RES are utilized successfully
throughout the world. Although this can be found in an abundance of RES regions,
which is a polluting source, most tower systems of Telkom Kenya are supplied
through diesel production in remote areas. Information on the availability of RES is
essential in order to develop an HPS system. The system is optimized on the basis of
different expenses. The ultimate choice is based on the estimated savings to be
generated by the implementation of the HPS system. This inspired the aims and the
order of the studies.

5 Research Methodology

5.1 Energy demand and renewable resources availability

The first phase design of HPS is evaluation of the renewable energy sources
available. Several HPS parts were dimensioned according to the tower's energy
consumption and the on-site average RES.
This represented the real system performance and served as a base for similar systems
which can be implemented irrespective of their ratings at this location.
5.1.1 Load/demand assessment

Energy demand dependents on the existing tower system equipment energy. The
overall energy requirements for kW were calculated and the basis for the HPS design
was employed. HOMER then employed monthly peak power demand, as this must
continually be met by the HPS.

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5.1.2 Wind Resource Assessment

To estimate the power output, statistics on the area's wind resource were required
(Lukuyu and Cardell, 2014). Wind resource data for this project were derived from
secondary sources, including recently published studies over the last 15 years, such as
data from the Kenya Meteorological Department and NASA meteorological data.
Actual data collection and analysis were performed to verify the documentation of
data obtained with an anemometer.

5.1.3 Solar Resource Assessment

Solar insolation measurements in kWh/m2 were used to determine the solar

availability at each location, which was then used to compute photovoltaic energy
production (Lukuyu and Cardell, 2014).

5.2 Hybrid power system design

The systems parameters were calculated on the basis of the corresponding average
monthly RES data in accordance with the procedure set out in (Muralikrishna and
Lakshminarayana, 2008). Different HPS components were then compared to the cost
and power characteristics of various manufacturers.

5.3 Cost-Benefit-Analysis

It is critical to justify the scale of integrated power generation systems economically

(Muralikrishna and Lakshminarayana, 2008). The HPS was economically examined,
and cost components were taken into account when optimizing the system's size. The
costs of NPC, COE, SV, and TAC were computed using the life-cycle and
replacement costs of the various systems, as described in (Rehman and Al-Hadhrami,
2010).
The HPS configurations used in this experiment included wind, solar, battery banks,
and optimized diesel generators to provide electricity in the absence of RES
collectors. These configurations were modelled and studied in order to determine the
most sustainable system configuration based on the NPC's lifetime and fuel
consumption. HOMER software aided the researchers in determining the

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technological viability of each system design and the NPC system. While RETScreen
and Hybrid2 are capable of simulating the same thing as HOMER, HOMER has the
dimensioning capability and so was chosen for this project. Additionally, it is
accessible for free.

6 Results and Discussions

6.1 Tower system BTS and Transmission load

For the Aitong station, energy consuming equipment:

The power required for radio sites varies from 1 000-1200 watts, depending on the
kind of BTS, generation, traffic, and output power and for the set-up of the S222
BTS, the electricity consumption of the radio on microwaves is capacity and ranges
from 200-350 watts. The lighting for the tower safety and aircraft alert varies between
20 and 25 watts in line with manufacturer specifications and operates at night.
The average daily energy consumption of the tower BTS was around 36 kWh with +v
(positive) or -v (negative) errors of 10 percent.
The average daily power consumption and the load on the BTS Turm was around 36
kWh with +ve (positive) or –ve (negative) errors of about 10%. This was based on
statistics on the monitoring of power use for the last 15 years at Telkom installations
in Kenya. This meant that the turbine system needed 1,5 kW of power. Figure 4
illustrates the BTS load pattern for the hourly time, whereas Figure 5 shows the
Telecom tower illumination load pattern modeled using HOMER software.

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Figure 4: Hourly BTS load pattern for the tower
Figure 5: Hourly lighting load pattern for the tower
6.2 Renewable energy sources availability

The secondary data and actual data in the study area are generated from the RES
available. The secondary information was based on the published historical data from
NASA, published data from the Kenya Meteorological Department (KDM) and prior
research on RES accessibility in the Aitong region (Theuri, 2008). Real information
was gathered using HPS prototypes put on the screening site. Based on the
examination of the two data sets, conclusions have been drawn concerning the
average RES potential, based on which HPS has been designed.

6.2.1 Primary data collection and analysis

6.2.1.1 HPS prototype assembly

Figure 6 below presents a block diagram of HPS. The specification of HPS are
presented in Appendix 4.

Figure 6: Prototype HPS

6.2.1.2 Data analysis

The whole, complete, and true data is included in Appendix 5. The system
was reset after every 21 days for routine examinations and maintenance
work. Insolation levels and wind speed are the most crucial data to track.
Consumption loads were implemented to make sure that RES continual
loading was possible.

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6.3 HPS design

The HPS was designed with HOMER. The RES data was based on NASA data that
was downloaded from the NASA website to the software. The optimisation was
based on many sensitivity studies, including the costs and the RES.

6.3.1 HPS modelling

This model comprises of a wind turbine XL6R, Pv, FB10-130 and the BDI converter
as shown in Figures 4-2- 4-6, which reflects HOMER simulation outcomes. The
model consists of a diesel-generator. For the various elements from the HOMER
simulation results, Table 3 presents eight (6) optimal NPC-based combinations (both
CAPEX and OPEX).

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Table 3: The eight (6) best simulation results
Figure 7:Cost summary

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 Figure 8: Battery operation

Figure 9: RES penetration daily profile

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Figure 10: Excess electrical production

Figure 11: Total RES output daily profile

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6.4 Economic viability of the HPS

The cost of this HPS is the HOMER-generated CAPEX, OPEX, COE and NPC,
which are the most suitable combination of different components. Figure 7, which
presents the cost summary

The CAPEX of the current turbine power system has been calculated at KES5
million and the annual cost of operation (OPEX) is projected at KES3 million.
Annex 1 shows the breakdown of the O&M. With a rate at 17.5%, a 15-year life
cycle and an Equation applied (2.1), the OPEX NPC amounts to some KES 16
million. If an expenditure of KES 21 million (OPEX and CAPEX NPC) for the
current system is to occur today, compared to KES 2,6 million for the HPS, in this
study it will be necessary to do so. The COE of the existing system in this study will
be significantly greater than the COE on the basis of the same rationale. Current
O&M is KES 3 million for the current system, whereas the O&M for HPS is KES 27
410. There is therefore a net saving of KES 2.972,590 when the present system is
replaced with the HPS. On this basis, investment returns will be around 9 months.

7 Conclusions and Recommendation

7.1 Conclusions

This investigation showed that the Telkom Kenya BTS system has enough RES at
Aitong location. During the trial period, the RES measured and reported on the site
correlates well with NASA documents and with other secondary sources considered
in the course of this investigation. It is worth noting, as the data acquired from
NASA has been utilised in the construction of the HPS.

It can also be concluded that NASA data can be used at other locations to decide
whether current power sources should be replaced with economically efficient power
sources.

HOMER was supported in the creation of the HPS system. It comprised the cost
analysis and cost analysis of the best combination of various HPS components. The

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design also influenced technological developments in future modifications of the
tower loads. The adoption of BTS electricity-saving equipment will include in
particular modifications in technology. Based on the attractive NPC system costs, the
HOMER optimization model was adopted.

It was observed that the results of simulation software vary depending on the pricing
of RES components. This is because the prices of HPS components differ between
regions. The modifications of cost and other properties of the various HPS
components are therefore not automatically updated. This has therefore been
identified as a HOMER software flaw.

7.2 Recommendations

It is suggested that to increase the likelihood of the project's success in the future, precautions
are implemented. This can be advantageous if a new validation or the addition of additional
devices necessitates revalidation of the standard use in the future. This also helps reduce data
gathering time and enables the future data controller to determine whether the output % has
increased or decreased.
We made the following recommendations from the study:
1. The analysis suggests that there is a good RES system in the study area that can be
used as a power supply for a tower system remotely placed.
2. In order to ensure the best systems of every tower system are picked, it is finally
advised that RES mapping be performed at all other sites.

References

[1] J. M. Lukuyu and J. B. Cardell. (2014). Hybrid Power System Options for Off-Grid
Rural Electrification in Northern Kenya.
[2] M. M. Hoque, I. K. A. Bhuiyan, R. Ahmed, A. A. Farooque, and S. K. Aditya. (2012).

Design, Analysis and Performance Study of a Hybrid PVDiesel Wind System for a
Village Gopal Nagar in Comilla.

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[3] S. Kumar and V. K. Garg. (2013). A Hybrid Model of Solar-Wind Power Generating
System.
[4] M. Muralikrishna and V. Lakshminarayana. (2008). Hybrid (solar and wind) energy
systems for rural electrification.
[5] G. Notton, S. Diaf, and L. Stoyanov. (2011). Hybrid Photovoltaic/Wind Energy
Systems For Remote Locations.

[6] D. Choge, S. Rotich, and J. Tonui. (2013). Small Wind Turbines: A Simulation for
Optimal Selection in Uasin-Gishu, Kenya.

[7] M. O. Omae, E. N. Ndungu, and P. L. Kibet. (2013) A Survey of Internal and External
Challenges Experienced by Kenya‟s Telecommunication Industry.
[8] J. Ding and J. Buckeridge. (2000). Design considerations for a sustainable hybrid
energy system.
[9] A. F. Zobaa and R. C. Bansal. (2011). Eds., Handbook of Renewable Energy
Technology. World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
[10] I. a Adejumobi, S. G. Oyagbinrin, F. G. Akinboro, M. B. Olajide, and O.
State. (2011). Hybrid Solar and Wind Power : an Essential for Information
Communication Technology.
[11] N. Faruk, A. A. Ayeni, M. Y. Muhammad, A. Abdulkarim, and O. Moses. (2012).
Hybrid power systems For Cell Sites In Mobile Cellular Networks.

[12] A. Setiawan and C. Nayar. (2006). Design of Hybrid Power System for a Remote
Island in Maldives, in The Proceedings of the HOMER Webcast-NREL USA.

[13] S. Goel and S. M. Ali. (2014). Cost Analysis of Solar / Wind / Diesel Hybrid Energy
Systems for Telecom Tower by Using HOMER.
[14] G. Deb, R. Paul, and S. Das. (2012). Hybrid power generation system.

[15] J. F. Manwell, J. G. McGowan, and A. L. Rogers. (2002). Wind energy explained:

theory, design and application.

[16] P. G. Dalwadi and C. R. Mehta. (2012). Feasibility Study of Solar-Wind Hybrid Power
System.

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 [17] J. Razak, K. Sopian, and Y. Ali. (2007). Optimization of renewable energy hybrid
system by minimizing excess capacity.

[18] G. Bopp and A. Lippkau. (2008). World-wide overview about design and simulation
tools for hybrid PV systems.

[19] O. H. Mohammed, Y. Amirat, M. Benbouzid, A. Elbast, O. H. Mohammed, and Y.

Amirat. (2014). Optimal Design of a PV / Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System for the City
of Brest in France.
[20] S. Rehman and L. M. Al-Hadhrami. (2010). Study of a solar PV–diesel–battery hybrid
power system for a remotely located population near Rafha.

[21] D. Theuri. (2008) Kenya Country Report: Solar and Wind Energy Resource

Assessment-SWERA Project.

[22] WindForce Management Services Private. (2013) Wind sector prospectus-Kenya

(Wind energy data analysis and development programme)-MoE.

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Development Plans in Kenya.

Appendices

Item Item Description Unit Annual Unit Cost Overall

Consumption (KES) O&M Cost

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 Rate (KES)
Air Element Each 24 4,500.00 108,000.00
enance

Oil Filter Each 24 1,500.00 36,000.00

Oil Liters 7*24 300.00 50,400.00
Preventive Maint

Fuel Filter Each 24 1,600.00 38,400.00

Starter Battery Each 1 9,000.00 9,000.00
Fan Belt Each 1 1,000.00 1,000.00
Coolant Liters 2 1,000.00 2,000.00
Transport 100km 24 2,000.00 48,000.00
Labour 2 Tech
24 3,000.00 72,000.00
Collective Labour, Transport And
Per Call
Maintenance Minor Spares 12 5,000.00 60,000.00
Supply And Delivery Of
Site Fueling Liters
Fuel 3*24*365 100.00 2,628,000.00
Total 3,052,800.00

Appendix 1: O & M for the existing two 8kVA Dual plant (recorded data)

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Appendix 3: HPS prototype circuit

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NO: Component Specifications/purpose in the system Number of
components

1 Solar panel 20W, 18V, with 1.28 m tower 1

2 Wind 50W, 12V DC, with 3m tower 1

turbine
3 Energy 60V 100A Digital LCD Display Voltage, Current, Power, Battery 3
meter(s) Voltage
Analysis:

Voltage: (0) V-4V-60V 0.01V (Resolution); Current: 0-100 A

peak 0.01A (Resolution); Power: 0-655.4 W 0.1W (Resolution);
Charge: 0-65 Ah 0.001Ah (Resolution); Energy: 0-655.4 Wh 0.1

Wh (Resolution); Measurement Update period: 400mS; Signal

Sampling Rate: sample/s; Data Queue Sequence time: 2 seconds;

In Circuit Resistance: 0.001 Ohms; Operation Current: 7 mA;

Auxiliary Power Voltage : 4.0V ~ 60V; Size : 8.3 x 4.7 x 2cm /

3.27 x 1.85 x 0.79inch; Display Screen : 1602 STN LCD

4 Battery 12V, 40AH deep cycle, maintenance free 1

5 Solar charge Solar Panel Regulator Charge Controller 10A 12V/24V Auto 1
controller
Switch Safe

6 Loads Three 9W DC bulbs and one 11W DC bulb. Total of 38W of DC 4 DC bulbs
loads

7 Inverter 30 A inverter 1

8 Bus bar Twin strip for +ve and –ve sides. 1

Appendix 4: Components specification

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