Green telco towers cut energy consumption

Global mobile telephony subscriptions will continue to grow over the next 5 years. Increased subscriptions and traffic will drive demand for additional base stations, particularly in emergent regions: Analysys Mason, a telecommunications research firm, predicts that 3 out of 4 base stations will be deployed in emergent markets.

A non-negligible part of these base stations will need to be deployed in remote regions with no access to the electrical grid. Diesel or propane generators are often used to power these off-grid telecom towers (Exhibit 2), despite the high operation & maintenance costs.

These generators are sometimes combined with renewable energy (typically solar PV, wind, or both) but 100% renewable energy systems are rare, since the lower operation & maintenance costs are usually not enough to offset the higher capital costs and the risk of intermittence due to the lack of solar or wind resources. Three recent developments might change this, particularly for solar PV based solutions deployed in the sunbelt countries: lower PV prices, more robust off-grid technology, and a broader availability of ESCOs (Energy Service Companies).

However, to facilitate materializing the government's vision of achieving SDGs by 2030, mobile phone tower company edotco Bangladesh has started running its operation using renewable energy in remote areas, its officials said, reports BSS.

The company has already installed around 672 mobile network sites using renewable energy among its 8000 towers to reduce carbon footprint up to 20 percent due to innovative green technology, they said. "edotco is able to bring innovative and green solutions to Bangladesh's rural and remote communities, thereby enhancing the quality of the residents' lives and providing adequate network coverage amid the country's power shortage," said edotco Bangladesh Managing Director Rahul Chaudhary.

Officials said edotco's wind turbines can produce on an average 4-10 kilowatt-hr energy per day depending on the different system capacity in normal conditions and can function without any glitches even during adverse weather conditions. Besides, each green tower site generates about 9-22 kilowatt-hr of power daily from an installed solar power facility of different system capacity.

It also distributes around 240-watt energy from each of these towers (total 15 sites) to the communities for free. Following such accomplishment, edotco Bangladesh has an extensive plan to reach out to more areas in the upcoming years, they added.

edotco Bangladesh has first ever successfully installed two (02) wind turbines in October 2016 at Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf and Cox's Bazar in an attempt to support the need for power in remote coastal regions. The wind turbines provide up to 30 percent of total energy required from traditional sources and enable the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to generate power which is more than 10 kWh per day per turbine.

As the wind speed elevates, the power generated may increase by up to eight-fold. Till date, edotco Bangladesh has installed eight more wind turbines in places like Kanjarpara, Kocchopia, Shashibhusan, Marine Drive road, Inani Beach, PecharDwip and Chensuri para.

Bangladesh has over 14 crore mobile phone users and they frequently talk with each other thanks to the network and infrastructure which keep them connected 24X7 uninterrupted.

-Digital Age Desk