Green-oriented opportunistic cooperation in relay-based cellular networks with grid-connected photovoltaic power generators

The grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power generator has been demonstrated as a promising solution of hybrid energy to leverage instantaneous renewable energy generation for reducing the energy acquired from electrical grid. In light of this technology trend and opportunity, this paper takes an initial attempt to explore the relay selection and power allocation for green cooperative cellular networks with grid-connected PV power generators. By properly considering the distributions of PV power, we propose an opportunistic relay selection scheme to minimize the grid power consumption. We also analyze the performance on the expected total grid power consumption in the whole network and derive a corresponding upper bound. The simulation results demonstrate that more than 53% of grid power can be saved by the exploitation of PV power with the proposed scheme.