Introduction

Many of the Telecommunication systems used by companies are essentials and cause direct impact on the main business, being indispensable to work without interruption. They are typically powered by the local grid operators.

The telecommunication traffic over the POTS offered a high availability, but digital telephone now  and in the near future will operate completely over the Internet Protocol (IP) via Internet. Therefore we must implement now a highly uninterruptable securely powered Internet.

ENERGY FOR TELECOMMUNICATION – PAST AND FUTURE

The existing telecommunication systems worked well in an uninterruptable manner, mostly based on Lead-Acid batteries in central offices and in outdoor cabinets till to the customer buildings.

Continuous, uninterrupted service and high reliability are needed for telecommunication infrastructure and services also in the future. We are now in a transitional period wherein IP Networks composed of router,server and other equipment have a very high power consumption, though switches have been used in telecommunications equipment in the past. The backbones of IP network equipment are now datacenters.

The energy consumption of information technology (IT)-equipment is increasing especially through the growth of new communication services, mobile communication, datacenters etc..

The adoption of Smart Grid devices throughout utility networks will effect tremendous change in grid operations and usage of electricity over the next two decades. The changes in how to control loads, coupled with increased share of renewable energy sources, will raise a new set of challenges in balancing consumption and generation. Integration of renewable is creating a need for more distributed storage.

Increased deployment of energy storage devices in the distribution grid will help to make this process more effective and to improve system performance. We will see new types of storage devices being utilized for grid support and new ways they are integrated into the grid..

TECHNOLOGY OF ENERGY STORAGE

The currently discussed Energy storage devices are based on a large variety of physical principles and different engineering approaches.

Battery  

• Lead_Acid
• NiCd
• Lithium-Ion
• Lithium-Air

Redox-Flow

Flywheel

Supercapacitor

Compressed Gas

Fuel Cells

What are the most economic and efficient solutions for energy storage systems in correlation to the load requirements?

ENERGY COST AND TRENDS

The growing costs of energy together with the growing environmental consciousness have led to a push in research activities on alternative energy sources and in actions on energy consumption reduction.

What are the necessary actions to be done in these areas?

What are the future targets on renewable energy sources usage in the telecommunication field?

SAFETY

High safety is a must for any energy storage systems used in telecoms.

A higher energy density often requires monitoring and single cell controlling to reduce the fire risk. Standardization plays a vital role in this process.

STANDARDIZATION BODIES AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

Standardization needs to cover all storage systems and battery types to ensure the highest possible level of safety for the personal and the operation.

The technical bodies involved as IEC, ISO and CENELEC start working on these standards. Are the actual activities enough? How we can proceed?