As telecommunications have expanded to connect people and products around the globe, power requirements for keeping systems up and running have grown alongside. Distributed generation (DG) and energy storage (ES) solutions are becoming major tools for network providers to reduce energy costs and insulate operations from grid unreliability. According to a recent report from Navigant Research, telecommunications network providers are expected to spend more than US$31 billion from 2015 through 2024 on DG and ES systems.
"Ever since the introduction of the first mobile and data networks three decades ago, the telecommunications industry has been in a constant state of change," said Richelle Elberg, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. "This has in turn led to astounding new capabilities for people to stay connected and communicate with each other, and ensures the reliability of these lines of communication is of the utmost importance for network providers."
The use of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the telecommunications industry has mirrored the growth of solar PV in society at large and is now a common feature on remote telecom assets, according to the report. This correlation is spurring companies to develop new business models that make hybrid systems incorporating distributed renewables for remote telecommunications deployments more attractive.
Article translated by Alex Wolfgram
