Smart eyes green energy to power its cell sites

MANILA, Philippines - Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications is looking at powering more of its cell sites using “green” and renewable energy sources, not only to generate additional savings and aid expansion, but more importantly to help the environment.

Since putting up its first wind-powered cell site in 2006 in Malapascua Island in Cebu province, Smart said has generated over P140 million in accumulated savings and now has 114 cell sites that run on renewable energy, both wind and solar.

“Of the 114 green cell sites we now have nationwide, 40 run purely on wind power, and the rest are hybrid, utilizing both wind and solar power. We are looking at converting more cell sites until the end of next year. We are taking advantage of the abundant wind and sun in our country,” Smart transport and access senior manager Victorio Costes Jr. said at the recent 7th Green Power for Mobile working group conference in Mactan Island, Cebu.

Costes said that they are also looking at how to use renewable energy not only in remote areas but also in the cities, where buildings or infrastructure may prevent efficient use of solar and wind power. “We have tested a vertical axis-type wind turbine to help power our cell site. This innovation is a first in the Philippines,” he said.

Attended by representatives of cellular operators worldwide, the Green Power for Mobile program was launched by global mobile phone industry body Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) in September 2008.  The program aims to promote the use of renewable energy sources to power new and off-grid base stations, especially in developing countries. The Green Power for Mobile meeting also serves as a venue for telecom operators to discuss recent innovations and developments in the use of alternative energy sources in the global telecom industry.

Costes said using renewable energy to power off-grid cell sites that used to operate on fuel-powered generators has helped reduce Smart’s carbon footprint and enabled the company to operate cell sites in the mountains and remote islands more efficiently.

“Smart’s thrust is to provide all Filipinos – from the big cities to small remote islands - superior and affordable communications services nationwide. We also aim to provide Internet for all, using wireless broadband technology. This means networking more than 7,100 islands to provide seamless coverage to our 45.3 million cellphone subscribers and 1.3 million wireless broadband Internet users,” he said.

This means installing more than 6,000 cell sites in key cities and municipalities, in the mountains, in remote islands and in sparsely populated towns. “All these equipment require a lot of power to operate and thus raises our operational expenses,” he added.

In 2006, an off-grid cell site in a remote area that runs purely on generator power consumes 2,000 liters of diesel fuel per month. At the time, a liter of diesel cost about P51. Hauling of diesel to the island cost P10 per liter. This means that for one off-grid cell site, P122,000 monthly was needed – P102,000 for diesel and P20,000 for hauling diesel container drums.

“At the time, we had about 300 cell sites running on generator alone since their locations have no regular power supply. So if we do the math, that would be P30.6 million every month for diesel alone and P6 million for hauling. This huge amount will serve to power only the off-grid cell sites that actually do not generate a lot of traffic, and revenue. In business sense, it was not very viable. We were also not helping mother nature,” Costes said.

He noted that solar panels and wind turbines, otherwise known as renewable energy systems, proved to be effective and efficient energy and opex savers. “They replaced the diesel-driven generators that require regular monthly re-fueling, regular fuel hauling, and costly replacement of engine oil and filters. They were able reduce carbon dioxide emissions. They also lowered payback period to eight months for wind-powered cell sites, and to 1.5 years for hybrid cell sites,” he added.

 In 2009, Smart began looking at power source alternatives such as fuel cells, which could replace batteries and generator sets. It has tested two fuel cell technologies, the first using hydrogen, and the other using a combination of methanol alcohol plus water. “In the next few weeks, we are testing another type, which uses the hydrolysis technology, or water,” Costes said.

He added that they are also looking at other energy saving alternatives such as a fuel catalyst, which does not only reduce fuel consumption and toxicity level, but also increases diesel fuel efficiency. “The DC fan may also replace air conditioning units, and solid-state Light Emitting Diodes may replace our existing lightings,” he added.

Smart’s green programs earned for it the first Green Mobile Award at the prestigious 2009 GSMA Awards in Barcelona, Spain.  A 2008 GSMA Development Fund global survey of 25 mobile operators also cited Smart as having the most extensive deployment of stand-alone wind-powered cell sites.  In November last year, the Asian CSR Awards also gave an Excellence Award to our Alternative Power for Cell Sites program.

 “We are more encouraged and motivated to pursue long-term and sustainable pro-environment solutions that will be embedded in Smart’s operations,” Costes said.