SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 19, 2024 – Today, Huawei Digital Power released its 2024 White Paper on the Top 10 Site Power Trends. Li Shaolong, President of Huawei Site Power Facility Domain, offered a detailed interpretation of these trends that are set to power telecommunications operators’ green energy transition.
Trend 1: From Energy Consumers to Prosumers
Operators and tower companies (towercos) are transforming from mere energy consumers to proactive energy producers. This change is pivotal in reshaping the global energy landscape towards a low-carbon society. Operators are now focusing on constructing green, low-carbon networks, while also producing green energy and participating in power scheduling through new energy deployment like photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage systems (ESS).
Trend 2: Green Power
For the telecom energy sector, a standardized green power system will be built from three dimensions: energy self-sufficiency, reasonable benefits, and safety and stability, therefore making the construction and use of green sites a new normal.
Trend 3: Power Backup + Energy Storage
The industry will evolve from solely focusing on power backup to integrating power backup with energy storage. This evolution will lead to more cyclical applications like peak staggering and virtual power plant (VPP) services. The telecom VPP energy storage system is characterized by its simplicity, intelligence, and multiple-service convergence.
Trend 4: From Telecom Site to Shared Site
In addition to supplying power for communication services, telecom sites can develop diversified services such as “communication + edge computing” or “communication + residential power supply” according to local needs, expanding the service scope of sites. Telecom sites support the eMIMO mode and intelligent collaboration to provide more advanced services.
Trend 5: Low-Carbon Site
In response to increasing energy demands and carbon neutrality goals, operators and towercos are focusing on low-carbon site construction. This involves adopting multiple standards, multiple solutions, and intelligent management.
Trend 6: Simple Site
Operators continue to build energy networks featuring simple architecture, premium quality, cost-efficiency, and optimal experience, constructing simple sites across multiple dimensions.
Trend 7: Smart Site
With the aid of power electronics and digital technologies, the full link of sites from power generation, conversion, storage, distribution, consumption, to management operates on an intelligent basis. By “managing watt with bit”, the power supply system enters a smart era.
Trend 8: Generation-Grid-Load-Storage Synergy
The power supply system, power grid, and load devices of a site are no longer isolated from each other to achieve intelligent generation-grid-load-storage synergy. For example, by engaging in power services including intelligent peak staggering and the VPP, sites can deliver extra energy benefits.
Trend 9: Diversified Battery Technologies
Battery technology at telecom sites is diversifying in terms of materials, applications, and management technologies. This includes a shift to materials like sodium batteries, known for their stability and accessibility.
Trend 10: Security and Trustworthiness
Operators will build secure and trustworthy energy networks centering on device security, network security, security authentication, and trustworthy processes and results.
By releasing the top 10 trends of site power in 2024, Huawei Digital Power aims to deliver the benefits of technological innovation and promote the development and prosperity of the industry, as part of our contributions to the sustainable development and business success of operators and towercos.
