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Access to telecommunications services has increased significantly over the past decade in Ghana and many parts of the developing world. The number of mobile subscriptions in Ghana rose from 11,570,430 subscriptions in 2008 to 35,802,135 by early 2016. This growth is however challenged by the high and increasing cost of electricity supply to cell sites, particularly off-grid locations. Added to this challenge is the need to reduce the ecological footprint of business operations. In this paper, we assess the viability of using a solar PV−diesel hybrid power system as an alternative electricity supply to off-grid outdoor Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in Ghana. The BTS are typically powered by diesel generators. Using the technology and long-term fuel cost for the Ghanaian market, solar resource data, and other parameters relevant to the country, in addition to technology-specific data, we make use of the HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources) simulation tool in undertaking this study. The results indicate that, compared with diesel generators, a switch to solar PV−diesel hybrid system could reduce the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) by 48% and cut down on emissions by up to 90%.
Quansah et al. (Sun,) studied this question.