Standalone solar-hydrogen systems powering Fire Contingency Networks

This paper presents a case study of a standalone fire-emergency telecommunications site in southeastern Australia to compare the relative merits of a solar-hydrogen power supply system and a conventional PV-battery system with and without diesel generator back-up. Although the power units for such applications are usually small (i.e. less than 5 kW) with relatively small capital costs, their operating and maintenance (O&M) costs can contribute considerably towards the total lifecycle cost of the system, particularly for isolated sites with limited accessibility, where frequent maintenance visits are required. Solar-hydrogen systems were found to be a more economical option on a lifecycle cost basis than traditionally-used PV-batteries (both with and without diesel generator back-up) mainly due to the inherent low O&M costs of the system. This research also found that adding a small battery bank to the solar-hydrogen system offers opportunities to improve the reliability and efficiency of the system while maintaining the economics of the system almost at the same level as that for solar-hydrogen systems.