A Distributed Power Allocation Scheme for Base Stations Powered by Retailers with Heterogeneous Renewable Energy Sources

Abstract

Owing to the intermittent power generation of renewable energy sources (RESs), future wireless cellular networks are required to reliably aggregate power from retailers. In this paper, we propose a distributed power allocation (DPA) scheme for base stations (BSs) powered by retailers with heterogeneous RESs in order to deal with the unreliable power supply (UPS) problem. The goal of the proposed DPA scheme is to maximize our well-defined utility, which consists of power satisfaction and unit power costs including added costs as a non-subscriber, based on linear and quadratic cost models. To determine the optimal amount of DPA, we apply dual decomposition, which separates the master problem into sub-problems. Optimal power allocation from each retailer can be obtained by iteratively coordinating between the BSs and retailers. Finally, through a mathematical analysis, we show that the proposed DPA can overcome the UPS for BSs powered from heterogeneous RESs.Keywords: Base stations, Retailers, Heterogeneous renewable energy sources, Unreliable power supply, Distributed power allocation, Dual decomposition. Manuscript received Nov. 18, 2015; revised Apr. 4, 2016; accepted May 24. 2016 I. IntroductionWith the explosion of small cells used to sustain mobile traffic growth for ubiquitous access, the operation expenditures caused by the power consumption over wireless cellular networks has severely increased, as reflected in our electric bills [7], wireless cellular providers will be forced to pay the additional pollutant emissions cost for protection of the global environment. Accordingly, as the power generation cost from renewable energy sources (RESs) has been decreasing, the main energy sources for BS operations have shifted from conventional energy sources to RESs as a way to reduce operation expenditures [1].The use of RESs as the main power supply is considerably challenging because there is an unreliable power supply (UPS) problem caused by their intermittent generation [5], [8], [10], [11]. Nevertheless, continuing development in battery storage and utilizing aggregated energy sources from retailers can boost the sole use of RESs for BS operations without a conventional power supply [5], [8], [10]-[12]. In gencral, an RES can provide a constant power supply using battery storage

A Stackelberg Game Approach for Energy Outage-Aware Power Distribution of an Off-Grid Base Station over Multiple Retailers

“…In [13], the authors discussed a zero-grid BS system, which solely relies on RESs. In [14], the authors proposed a price based multiple PDS for off-grid BSs with batteries powered by multiple RES retailers. However, the multiple PDS does not consider the existence of EOs.…”

“…In this case, Equation (14) captures the fact that retailers can cooperate to meet the BS's power demand, and according to the unit power price ξ k , dual variable µ µ µ, and other retailers' power distribution ∑ K j =k p j including the above-mentioned parameters, the optimal power distribution for the off-grid BS is decided. Here, power distribution of the other retailers refers in Algorithm 1.…”

“…Before analyzing the proposed Stackelberg game based PDS, we calculate the normalized profile for RESs and BS traffic load in Figure 2, which is based on the generation pattern of and the BS traffic pattern during the short time period (i.e., 72 h) of areas in Europe [14,15]. While RESs are generated dependent on the climatic fluctuation, BS traffic load is dependent on the incoming population and social issues (e.g., holiday).…”

Evaluation of Demand-Side Management over Pricing Competition of Multiple Suppliers Having Heterogeneous Energy Sources

“…The logarithm term is the consumers' gain from satisfaction in using a certain amount of electricity. Note that a logarithmic utility function is generally utilized to measure user's satisfaction with diminishing returns [4][5][6]. In this study, the total requested demand for electricity is defined as a constant.…”

“…This evolution can be achieved by integrating modern communication technologies and innovations in distributed generation from renewable energy sources. Such systems are known as smartgrids [4][5][6]. Balancing demand and supply in a smartgrid has proved to be a challenge because of the highly variable, unpredictable, and intermittent nature of energy generation from renewable sources [4].…”