An economic analysis of power system designs for remote site telecommunications applications

Abstract

The author considers the economic evaluation of eight commonly used power system designs for remote locations. These designs are based on the following power-plant configurations: diesel engine generator, thermal electric generator, closed-cycle vapor turbine, solar electric generator, wind energy conversion system, solar hybrid (PV/diesel), wind hybrid (wind/diesel), and solar/wind hybrid. This evaluation provides a guideline for system design economics by comparing the results from each of the two sample cases. From these figures, a cost-to-load ($/W) ratio is calculated for each of the eight power-supply options.<>