Technical and economic trade-off study between photovoltaic power systems and closed cycle vapor turbogenerators

The author presents a tradeoff study between photovoltaic power systems and closed-cycle vapor turbogenerators for telecommunications applications in Nigeria. Issues discussed are system availability requirements, potential solar-cell problems, and economic factors. It is concluded that, due to its inherent high reliability and high-starting capability in cold standby configurations, the closed-cycle vapor turbogenerator, either in stand-alone or in a solar hybrid configuration, is frequently the system of choice because it is a more cost-effective alternative for telecommunications applications which require high availability and minimum maintenance