Optimal Configuration Analysis of a Microgrid-Based Telecom Power System

This paper presents a systematic microgrid-based telecom power system configuration analysis to establish a possible basis for an optimal design. It compares several configurations using a value function that includes important telecommunication power plant characteristics, such as cost and availability. The comparison yields guidelines on how best to configure the system. Design choices studied include the system main bus voltage, redundancy policy, and the microsource configuration. The analysis indicates that microgrid-based telecom power systems outperform traditional telecom power plants for medium to high-power sites, such as switching centers, and gives similar results for cell sites and low power transmission nodes. Microgrid configurations with an approximate 156 V main dc bus voltage achieve a slightly higher value function than other evaluated options.