RIC-Assisted Smart Microgrid for Renewable Powered Radio Access Network

As operators increasingly adopt environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies, the development of green radio access networks (RAN) is becoming a future trend. Local microgrids are often situated on-site and can provide direct power supply, coupled with the use of power-efficient equipment and lighter on-site units, making it more feasible to develop renewable-powered RANs. In this paper, we have summarized the net-zero strategies of operators and proposed a conceptual framework that combines RAN and microgrid by incorporating the RAN intelligent controller (RIC) and energy management system (EMS). We have also elaborated on the benefits of the proposed framework and identified future works of study.