Telecom operators explore renewable to cut costs and emissions

GREEN Options: Solar has so far emerged as the most preferred of renewable technology on offer primary because of the availability of abundant sunlight across the country.

Other alternative are also being adopted. Wind turbines for example, are particularly relevant in areas with significant wind velocities. Moreover, operators are also adopting Solar-Wind hybrid solutions, which help lower fossil fuel consumptions by up to 80 % . Base stations powered by such solutions other economically viable alternatives since they lower both operating and maintenance expenditures.

Companies are also undertaking R&D activities for producing bio-fuels from renewable energy sources, such as agriculture waste and residues , to power existing diesel genets . Other solutions like fuel cell systems are also being adopted. Theses help to replace batteries and DGs in urban areas. “Fuel cell” is a generic term encompassing a wide range of technologies that typically work by transforming the chemical energy of a fuel (usually Hydrogen) directly into electrical energy. Fuel cells can generate power ranging from 1 watt (Cell Phone)   to several megawatts (Small Industries). Hydrogen itself can be extracted in many different ways from different sources.

Operator Initiatives

All telecom operators as well as tower companies in India have started installing and experimenting with various alternative power solutions.

 
One of the pioneers in this area was IDEA Cellular, which partnered with Ericsson and GSMA’s Development fund to develop bio- fuels as a power source for wireless networks in rural India.  In a pilot project, such fuels were used to power mobile base stations in Latur , Maharashtra , where grid power is highly unreliable .

Presently Idea Cellular is experimenting with hybrid solar solutions it has begun with 20 sites at present and intends to take it to 500 eventually. Another initiative from Idea is to have a higher number of outdoor base stations (BTSs) as they consume relatively lesser energy compared to indoor BTSs.

Another initiative was undertaken by Reliance Communication, which installed windmills on its towers at Kunustara and Murugathal in West Bengal. Moreover the operator also approached SPV module manufacturers for powering cell sites using Solar Power.

It is currently exploring the feasibility of using solar energy in areas where an electric connection is not available. RCOM has also deployed Bio-Fuel plants to run its rural telecom networks in several areas. Bharti , which was the 2^nd largest buyer of diesel after Indian Railways till 2007 , when it spun off its cellular towers into a separate entity ( Indus Tower ) , has already conducted trials using wind power for its sites in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh , Orissa and west Bengal . It has also conducted some pilot projects on Solar Power and bio-fuels.

Bharti  infratel has already installed 500 Solar sites on ground and is planning to  take this to 2,000 soon .

Solar PV for Telecom Towers – Promising Business Opportunity in India

India is presently one of the largest telecom markets in the world, second only to China, with 250,000 mobile phone towers serving over 670 million subscribers. Factor in the country’s advancing Solar photovoltaic (PV) initiative, the National Solar Mission, and the fact that power and fuel expenditures account for 35% of the operating cost of each mobile phone tower, and one can easily deduce that solar PV and telecom should develop a more symbiotic working relationship. Such a relationship would result in a better overall telecom business model, especially since both factors (PV and telecom) are key elements in India's future growth and role as a global innovator.

That deduction would be wise. Solar (PV) for India’s vast proliferation of telecom towers, as demonstrated below, is the proverbial ‘writing on the wall.’ As it well should be.

Is such proliferation of telecom towers realistically sustainable?

The CAGR in the past 5 years is about 31% and this figure is likely to grow almost 1.5 times in the coming 5 years. Analysts estimate that by 2015 India will have nearly one billion users and they will be served by about 554,000 transmission towers, 30% of them in rural regions.

Power and fuel are, as mentioned, the primary expenditures which account for 35% of operating costs, both for passive components (such as steel towers, base tower station shelter, power supply system, etc.); and active components (such as spectrum, switches, and antennas).  BTS requires un-interrupted power in order to serve the signals continuously. Due to the unreliability of electricity in India, Diesel Generators are used as back-up in a Hybrid mode. India, as a net importer of crude oil, faces an inherent dilemma in that its Diesel is linked to International pricing and presently is close to €¢ 70 per litre, with each litre providing approximately 3.5kWh, yielding a cost of about €¢20/kWh. Furthermore, the Diesel supply in most of India’s rural areas is uncertain, at best. This makes use of Solar (PV) power ideal as a supplementary source; and, in fact, the best solution for continued sustenance. The implementation of Solar PV as the primary supplemental source in this realm could also, potentially, solve other problems related to diesel. (The total carbon emissions released by the current diesel generators is the equivalent of 5.3 million tons a year.)