Tecno-Economic analysis of Hybrid Renewable Energy on Telecommunication Industry in Zambia, Case Study in Mpulungu

Renewable energies play vital role in telecommunication sectors where grid is neither accessible nor stable. Wind energy (WE) and photovoltaic energy (PVE) are energy sources which when properly used can enable telecommunication business to be lucrative. In the application of renewable energy on off-grid rural and back bone sites hybrid systems are most pragmatic. Combination of solar, wind and backup batteries to meet the load demand can enable the energy center for the telecommunication site to be highly sustainable. Therefore, this paper looks at the analysis of hybrid renewable energy in Zambia on telecommunication sites in Mpulungu area of Northern part of Zambia. The hybrid renewable energy sources proposed in this paper includes solar PV systems and wind turbines. Configurations of the energy systems are driven from practical loads on sites, solar radiation, wind speed and backup lithium-ion batteries. The renewable power systems are optimized using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electrical Renewable (HOMER) and PVsyst simulation tools.