Solar, wind power to enable base station market, says In-Stat
By 2014, over 230,000 cellular base stations in developing countries will be solar-powered or wind-powered, according to In-Stat.
In the last few years, the number of worldwide cellular base stations has exploded from the hundreds of thousands to the many millions, creating greenhouse gases and pollution from the power required to run them. Base stations on an electric grid is not the real problem, but as cellular spreads to billions of people in emerging countries, off-grid base stations, which are usually powered by diesel generators running around the clock, proliferate. The number of off-grid base stations is growing at 30% per year, the research firm indicated.
"While diesel pollution is an environmental issue, what bothers operators the most is the cost of powering and securing the generators," said Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. "Diesel fuel has to be trucked to remote sites, and theft of diesel fuel and equipment can cost operators millions of dollars. The solution is for operators to at least partially power remote base stations with wind turbines, solar panels, or both. This is truly a case where it pays to be green."
In the last few years, the number of worldwide cellular base stations has exploded from the hundreds of thousands to the many millions, creating greenhouse gases and pollution from the power required to run them. Base stations on an electric grid is not the real problem, but as cellular spreads to billions of people in emerging countries, off-grid base stations, which are usually powered by diesel generators running around the clock, proliferate. The number of off-grid base stations is growing at 30% per year, the research firm indicated.
"While diesel pollution is an environmental issue, what bothers operators the most is the cost of powering and securing the generators," said Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. "Diesel fuel has to be trucked to remote sites, and theft of diesel fuel and equipment can cost operators millions of dollars. The solution is for operators to at least partially power remote base stations with wind turbines, solar panels, or both. This is truly a case where it pays to be green."
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