Utilizing renewable energy (RE) on existing infrastructure and planned sites for communications towers is a way to help secure America's energy independence, create jobs, reduce greenhouse emissions, and improve emergency preparedness and national security. Highland Energy Systems has completed designs for both off and on-grid systems for the implementation of RE to the communications industry. The company owns and operates a prototype communications tower complete with a 15 kW Proven wind turbine and a 24 X 200 watt solar PV panel array. The entire system, designed and installed by Highland, is grid connected and capable of powering a communications site. This tower is engineered to host four carriers.
In the United States there are an estimated 300,000 cell sites, each with an average use of 62,000 kW hours of electricity in just one year. (according to a study by ABI research). The total output of electricity used by communications towers is equal to a little over half of the annual output of Hoover Dam.
Many cell sites are connected directly to a local utility grid. Still others are in remote locations on top of mountains or so remote that access to grid power is not possible or is too cost prohibitive. Off-grid sites typically run continuously on fossil fuel generators. Grid connected sites often have a battery-based backup system to keep them on the air for a short time during power outages, typically as much as eight hours. Cost and danger to the environment make utilizing RE a good choice.
The goal of a supplying RE to a communications site might include creating a hybrid diesel/photovoltaic system in combination with wind energy. From 40-100 per cent of the energy required to operate remote telecom sites could be provided. Each site would need a battery bank with rectifiers that will work in conjunction with the PV system and/or wind turbine and a diesel generator . A site must incorporate a system controller capable of controlling and monitoring all aspects of the power system both locally and remotely, and must have manual and automatic data logging features as well as alarm functions.
Highland Energy Systems offers the experience and the capabilities to create a RE system for remote as well as grid connected communications applications.
