Solar powered base station with a multiple-input modified inverse Watkins-Johnson converter

A worldwide mobile network has consumed high volume of energy because of its high speed broadband growth (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, and 5G). Wireless telecommunication service providers have strived for reducing an operating expenditure (i.e., electricity cost) because an urban base station (BTS) consumes more power as these data uses of mobile subscribers increase. In order to reduce an operating cost of BTS, mobile service providers and researchers have been studied for a green BTS which uses less electricity from the utility power grid for its normal operation with renewable or alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic panels, wind generators, fuel cells, and energy storage systems. However, a green BTS may increase the total cost of ownership because these renewable and alternative energy sources typically requires high capital expenditure in the installation stage. To reduce this initial capital expenditure, this paper presents a BTS power stage system design and control method with a multiple-input modified inverse Watkins-Johnson converter of which advantage is a cost-effective solution with a high boost voltage gain. The considered energy sources in this green BTS was a photovoltaic module and energy storage system. The proposed BTS power converter and control method were verified with SPICE simulation results.