Most telecom tower companies in India rely on grid power to run telecom towers. However, due to the limited availability of power and uncertainty of grid power, approximately 40 per cent of the towers face load shedding for more than 12 hours a day. As a result, telecom tower companies have to rely on diesel generators (DGs) as a backup. While this ensures 24×7 network availability, it adds to the carbon footprint. As per industry estimates, telecom towers consume around 2 billion litres of diesel per year, which adds around five tonnes of carbon emissions to the environment. Meanwhile, the continuous surge in the prices of diesel in the country has impacted the operating margins of major telecom operators, already reeling under immense pressure from the ongoing tariff war.
Therefore, in the last few years, tower companies have started deploying renewable energy technology (RET) solutions such as solar, wind, biomass and fuel cells. Among renewable sources, solar power has been the most commonly used RET at green pilot sites across the world. In particular, this is one of the best sources of power in rural areas, which have vast open areas where solar panels can be installed easily. As the deployment of solar power increases, the price of panels decreases, which makes it an affordable option and reduces the dependence on DGs and the grid.
Another renewable source of energy is wind-powered generators. These generators can be installed at telecom towers in coastal areas such as in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra, where wind speeds are ideal for running the generators.
Some operators in the country have been deploying base stations that are powered by biofuels in certain rural areas that previously had no access to mobile networks because of unreliable power supply. In the long run, it is expected that locally produced jatropha oil could be used, whenever it is available in sufficient quantities.
Additionally, fuel cell-based systems can be designed to be modular. Any increase in demand at the site due to increased tenancy can be met through the simple addition of capacity to the fuel cell system. Fuel cells have higher efficiency as compared to other RET solutions. Fuel cell systems can be used for reducing the energy requirement of the telecom site in comparison to DGs, due to their significantly better efficiency versus load characteristics.
Adoption across industry
The Indian telecom industry has been making significant strides over the last few years with regard to the implementation of green initiatives for reducing the carbon footprint at tower sites. According to Indus Towers’ officials, as of February 2018, a total of 66,465 sites, which comprise about 52 per cent of the company’s towers are powered by renewable sources. In the coming years, the company is aiming to make its operations diesel-free. It has significantly reduced its diesel consumption over the past six years, thereby reducing its carbon footprint. During 2017-18, it lowered its diesel consumption by 11.6 per cent. These achievements have been due to the massive green deployments undertaken by the company. Indus has deployed solar and biomass solutions at many of its sites in the past few years and intends to incorporate solar and wind technologies at its telecom towers as part of its long-term power strategy. It is replacing air conditioners (ACs) with cooling units at its sites as a part of its shut AC-shut DG initiative. In terms of fuel cell deployment, Indus had installed a 5 kW metha-nol-based fuel cell system (proton exchange membrane fuel cell [PEMFC]) at a site in Delhi. This has replaced a 15 kVA DG set, which used to be a major source of conventional backup power.
Bharti Infratel had launched the Green Towers P7 programme in 2011, which was based on seven innovative clean energy technologies aimed at minimising the company’s dependence on diesel and reducing its carbon footprint. This programme focuses on using renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency and reducing power consumption. In 2017, the company extended the programme further by adding eight more clean energy technologies. These initiatives have successfully reduced the company’s diesel consumption by more than half in the past six years.
ATC India has been setting up captive hybrid solar systems at sites where DGs run for longer durations. Initially, the project will focus on off-grid towers having higher diesel usage. Currently, solar panels averaging 4.4 kWp (kilowatt panel) capacity have been installed at more than 450 sites in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The total installed solar capacity has surpassed 2 MWp (megawatt panel) capacity, which has brought down the carbon footprint considerably.
On the operator front, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) launched the Go Green initiative in Jharkhand, which aims at reducing the carbon emissions caused primarily by diesel consumption and ACs in over 400 BSNL exchanges across the state. To achieve this goal, BSNL is now shifting towards solar power to run its exchanges.
Recently, BSNL released tenders to provide rural telecommunications services in the Northeast. The contract was awarded to a partnership of Vanu India Private Limited and Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited. More than 900 solar-powered base transceiver stations (BTSs) will be installed across the region. Bharti Airtel has been experimenting with some green solutions in order to reduce its dependence on diesel consumption and reduce its carbon footprint. It has been using solar-DG hybrids that use 3-7 kW capacity solar panels in tandem with battery banks. This has helped in reducing the DG run hours from 20 to 6 hours a day by providing 18 hours of power. The system was further optimised by a hybrid solar controller. Currently, solar hybrid solutions with an installed capacity of over 17 MWp have been installed at 3,267 own and partner sites. Over the past five years, Airtel has set up around 17 rooftop solar plants at its main switching centres, with a total generation capacity of over 7 MWp.
Further, under the green wheeling initiative, Airtel has signed green power wheeling agreements for the procurement of over 90 MUs of green energy per annum. Further, over 96.5 MUs of renewable power has been wheeled into the company’s operations, which has, in turn, reduced 73,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. The company has also conducted solar natural cooling trials at 500 sites by switching off ACs and utilising solar natural cooling.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) has also started using high energy density lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in place of the conventional lead acid batteries to eliminate the usage of DGs at 80 per cent of RJIL’s sites in the country.The operator has integrated these Li-ion batteries with methanol fuel cells and solar-based solutions to minimise the dependence on DGs at around 20 per cent of RJIL’s sites in the country.
Vodafone India has also adopted a number of initiatives to reduce the energy used in its office buildings and administrative systems. Many of its offices are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and rated on the basis of their design, construction, operations and maintenance.
Challenges and the way forward
Although “go green” has been a popular theme in the telecom space for some time, till now, only 25 per cent of the mobile towers in the country run on renewable sources of energy.
The operators’ financial constraints have discouraged them from investing in renewable energy. Another challenge is the lack of returns on investment from renewable sources. The initial capex in setting up renewable energy systems is significant and the returns from them are uncertain.
Moreover, the government’s mandate to use renewable energy solutions is only concerned with the telecom infrastructure industry. However, in order to address the carbon footprint issue, the entire industry should be taken into consideration.
That said, renewables are going to be a key energy source for telecom sector in the future. The recently approved National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP), 2018 highlights the use of RET in communications. This includes the utilisation of small cell fuel batteries and Li-ion batteries, among others.
