Coordinated Energy Management in Resilient Microgrids for Wireless Communication Networks

This paper proposes a novel approach to power wireless communication network base stations (BSs) in order to achieve higher resilience. In the proposed dc microgrid, resilience is improved with the coordinated operation of renewable energy sources, energy storage devices, and BS traffic using an integrated controller that adjusts BS traffic and distributes stored energy among cell sites based on weather forecast and other operational conditions. The essential role played by power electronics active power distribution nodes in this resilient microgrid is also explained. Resilience improvements are evaluated quantitatively with metrics analogous to that of availability, which considers energy storage levels, power generation, and load. The analysis shows that the proposed system allows reducing service restoration times by a factor of 3 or improve resilience by double-digit percentage points, while the battery life is extended by about 10%. Additionally, battery bank size needs and PV array footprints can be reduced without compromising resilience. The proposed microgrid is implemented for wireless communication networks because both energy and communications are identified in the U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 21 as the two infrastructures that are especially critical for community resilience. Nevertheless, this same technology can also be used in other applications, such as residential neighborhoods or industrial campuses.