Cost-effectiveness and Reliability of Gas and Diesel Energy Supply for Telecommunication Base Stations: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of the CAT C-15 Diesel electrical power generator and the CAT G3516 electrical power gas generator by integrating Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) metrics with Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) modeling to assess their technical and economic performance for telecommunication base station applications. The gas generator system demonstrated superior reliability with higher Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and lower failure rates across major subsystems, translating to greater operational uptime. Economically, the LCOE results showed a strong advantage for the gas generator, maintaining lower costs across all discount rates tested ($0.25/kWh at 10% to $0.41/kWh at 30%) compared to diesel ($0.94/kWh to $1.06/kWh). Despite higher upfront capital costs, the gas system's lower operational costs and longer lifespan (25 years vs. 15 years) significantly contributed to its economic efficiency. These findings support broader adoption of gas-powered systems in telecommunication infrastructure where lifecycle cost and operational dependability are critical.