Maravi

Bharti aims to entrench green culture

Bharti aims to entrench green culture
By Gift Chanda
Wed 28 Mar. 2012, 12:59 CAT

BHARTI Airtel has announced significant milestones in its endeavour to build a ‘green' environment friendly mobile network and reduce its carbon footprint in Africa.

The company stated that over the last one year, as part of its commitment to the environment, the company has reduced the number of telecom sites running solely on diesel by more than 50 per cent by overcoming the challenge of lack of grid connectivity through use of innovative models such as Hybrid Battery Bank.

"By 2013, Bharti Airtel aims to completely eradicate the constant use of diesel to power its network. This means no telecom site of the company will rely solely on diesel power 24 hours a day," the statement released by the company read in part.

Hybrid Battery Banks collect the excess energy produced by the diesel powered generator in a battery that powers the site once the generator is switched off.

"This has helped reduce the use of diesel by up to 14 hours a day," it stated.

The telecommunication giant said close to 60 per cent of its telecom sites in Africa are now powered using the Hybrid model resulting in major reduction in emissions and also operating costs for the company.

"This milestone is the result of significant steps by Airtel taken to ensure that we reduce our fuel consumption and that we play our part in conserving the environment. We will continue to do so as the year progresses," chief technical officer Eben Albertyn said.

"Our first priority is to reduce the number of sites that are completely reliant on diesel generators. We are doing this by connecting these sites to grid electricity in areas where this option is feasible. Where it is not, we are exploring alternative forms of power supply, which include Hybrid Battery Banks and solar or wind power."

The company is targeting over 70 per cent of all its sites to be powered by the hybrid model by end of 2013.

Airtel added that it is also working on the use of solar and wind power to run its telecom sites.

Labels: BHARTI AIRTEL, ENVIRONMENT, MOBILE PHONES

posted by MrK @ 5:25 PM