Ericsson debuts next generation solar-powered base station

Global telecommunications giant Ericsson has unveiled what it claims is a world first, in the form of a base station in a rural region of Cambodia that provides both GSM and satellite transmission using solar power.

The company already has around 200 base stations operating around the world using solar power, but the new site in Cambodia represents the first time both satellite transmission technology and GSM have been able to run off solar energy.

Elaine Weidman, director of corporate responsibility at the company, said that the breakthrough had been achieved as a result of improvements in the energy efficiency of the technologies within the base station.

These include improved standby technology that power down the systems outside of peak hours and a new design that has enabled the shortening of cables and feeders within the site – which have cut its energy demands in half.

As a result, the site can run off a 74sqm solar array and a backup generator that Weidman claims is used less than 10 per cent of the time. "We've cut emissions from the site by around 90 per cent," she said. She added that with the generators used by non-grid connected rural base station requiring an average of 20,000 litres of diesel a year, the shift to solar is also proving cost effective, delivering a return on investment within three years.

The new base station is part of a wider Ericsson programme to expand the use of alternative energy for mobile phone infrastructure in the developing world. The company also operate 40 sites in India that are running off of biofuel, has trialled a new battery technology at a base station in Uganda that cuts in half the time the diesel generator and is committed to expanding its use of solar power.

However, those environmentalists hoping that zero or low carbon base stations could ultimately be rolled out globally are likely to be disappointed, according to Weidman. She said that the cost of renewable energy compared to the grid means that it does not make sense to replace existing grid connections with solar arrays or biofuel generators.