Techno-Economic Studies of Integration of Solar PV Technology in Telecommunications Sector for Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Budiriro

Abstract

The telecommunications industry in Zimbabwe keeps growing with an increase in the number of users year by year. The demand on the national grid and low power supply means long hours of electricity outages, which prompts Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to use generators as backup power to keep base stations online for uninterrupted provision of internet to consumers. Generator systems increase the operation expenditure (OPEX) of running base stations, produce GHG emissions and in tern attract an additional cost of emission. This causes an increase in the cost of running the business and consequently internet data prices. A case study was conducted in Budiriro. A framework was developed which analysed six combinations (Grid + Generator, Generator only, Generator + Solar, Solar only, Grid + Solar, and Grid only) of power sources based on sustainability pillars; Economical, Environmental, and Social, as well as Technical. The six alternatives were simulated in HOMER Pro, a system that evaluates designs for both off-grid and grid-connected power systems, to determine the output (power output, investments, costs, and emissions) of these individual systems. Using a sub-criterion of 15 pairwise combinations, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank these systems, and the best solution was chosen based on the main criteria of the sustainability pillars. The result shows that Grid + Solar PV system provides the best optimal alternative power system to power base stations for the study area, substituting Grid + Generator systems (Existing system). It reduces OPEX by over 1,000 percent offering 37 percent more power and 41.13 tonnes of GHG emissions avoided per year. Socially, power sharing between households and base stations as well as reduction of air and noise pollution. The optimal alternative power source for the base station proposed here in this study will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and dependence on grid and operation costs which in turn will reduce data prices, increase internet accessibility at affordable rates and provide a sustainable future for telecommunications businesses in Budiriro.