Evaluation of Renewable Energy Integration Strategies for Telecommunications Base Stations in Adamawa State

Telecommunications base stations in Adamawa State, North East Nigeria, operate predominantly on diesel generator power due to unreliable grid electricity supply, resulting in high operational costs and significant carbon emissions for network operators. This study evaluates alternative renewable energy integration strategies for powering base stations across diverse terrain and energy resource conditions within the state. Three hybrid power configurations are evaluated: solar photovoltaic with battery storage, wind-solar hybrid with battery storage, and fuel cell backup integrated with solar PV, assessed against the reference diesel-only baseline using HOMER Pro energy simulation software. Site-specific solar irradiance, wind speed, and existing load data from five operational base stations in Yola, Mubi, Numan, Song, and Michika Local Government Areas were collected and used as simulation inputs. Results show that solar PV with lithium iron phosphate battery storage offers the lowest levelized cost of energy at 0.28 USD per kilowatt-hour across the majority of evaluated sites, representing a 64 percent cost reduction against the diesel baseline. System reliability, defined as loss of power supply probability, was below 0.5 percent for the recommended configurations at all five sites. Carbon emission reductions ranged from 71 to 88 percent depending on site characteristics. A professional business case analysis is provided for each configuration, enabling network operators to make evidence-based investment decisions for base station green energy transitions in Adamawa State. Keywords: renewable energy, base station, solar PV, telecom infrastructure, Adamawa State