By James Ratemo

The quest to curb carbon emissions is critical to reversing global warming.The telecommunication sector is fast moving away from oil-powered generators, which run 24 hours all week long to run Base Transmission Stations (BTS).

Telecom companies pour huge sums of money each year to run these base stations to keep people connected round the clock.

This in the process has adds to the carbon emissions, which fans global warming.

But a new technology promises not just green airwaves but also less costs of running BTS.

Through innovations by Winafrique Technologies Ltd, telecom firms no longer need to rely on diesel-generated electricity to run transmission stations.

Through the use of green technologies like solar and wind, telecom firms have placed a cap on carbon emissions as well as reducing their cost of operation.

Winafrique Technologies also employs energy enhancers and battery banks that store energy that would otherwise go to waste.

The wind turbine, which is installed on top of a tall tower and solar panels on raised surfaces, collects wind and solar energy and converts it into energy. This electricity can be used to drive machines or directly charge batteries.

The stored energy is then utilised when required and can help reduce the fuel consumption of a generator when used in hybrid combinations.

This system provides the benefits of energy independence and the ability to regenerate power with little or no maintenance costs.

"The battery storage saves up to 50 per cent of energy from solar and wind. This in turn reduces cost on electricity and oil by up to 75 per cent," says Anthony Ng’eno, Managing Director, WinAfrique Technologies Ltd.

He said WinAfrique has designed a unique power enhancing solution, where a diesel generator supplies power direct to the load while excess power is used to recharge a battery bank.

"When the load is much lower, the diesel generator is automatically turned off, and the power is supplied from the previously stored excess energy in the battery," says Ng’eno, a Computing and IT graduate from the Open University in UK.

In this way, he says, the generator capacity is fully used and the maintenance costs per kWh are minimised.

"We are saving up to sh3.5 million per annum per site in fuel and maintenance costs," says Eng Elephas Gikungi, Telkom Kenya’s Manager, Power and Air Conditioning.

Saving costs

With 11 base stations running on wind and solar energy other, Gikungi says Telkom Kenya saves up to Sh38.5 million per annum.

The story is the same at Safaricom, which now generates 70 per cent of its energy to power the base stations from renewable sources.

"Through the shift to solar and wind energy, we have seen a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 70 per cent, reduced maintenance cost and increased energy efficiency through optimisation of generators," says Sichiri Mukunzi, Operations Support Manager, in a statement.

"This has also reduced generator run time from the conventional 24 hours run time of dual generators to between 1-5 hours per day per base station site."

Usually, telecom companies power the base transmission stations using electricity with ready diesel engines for backup in case of power failure. In off grid rural areas, the BTS is fully powered by diesel generators since there is no electricity.

According to Ng’eno, the BTS has to be fueled every 500 hours and serviced every 24 days.

However, with the installation of the hybrid wind and solar packages, generator run-time is reduced to four hours per day, down from 24 hours per day.

"Maintenance for solar and wind powered BTS is once every 60 days as opposed to the diesel powered stations that is serviced every 24 hours," explained Ng’eno.

The reduction in maintenance time and cost of running transmission stations enables telecom firm to divert their energies to core areas of their business.

Ng’eno says from the savings, telecom firms? payback time on green energy investment on the hybrid wind and solar power, is three years.

Sample this: at sh70 per litre of diesel, it costs around Sh350 per hour to run diesel engine. For wind and solar hybrid BTS, this cost comes down to sh120 per hour in the life of the equipment.

Since companies often establish BTS in areas, which are not served with electricity, solar and wind is the best option to power such stations.

Kenya, which lies on the equator, enjoys up to eight hours of sunshine every day. Many more areas across the country have varying potentialfor harnessing wind energy.

Countrywide, Kenya?s telecom firms operate close to 4,000 Base Transmission Stations with 40 per cent located in rural areas that are not served with electricity. Safaricom operates about 2,000 base stations, Zain has 1,400, Telkom Kenya runs about 1,300 and Yu about 1000 stations.

With this heavy power soaking installations, investing in green energy technologies offers relief in the fight against global warming, an issue that is currently in the crosshairs of the international community.

Global warming

At a recent environmental summit of world leaders, the key emphasis has been on how to employ green and safer technologies and reduce the use of dirty and dangerous fossil fuels in a bid to stem global warming.

Apart from powering base stations, Winafrique Technologies is also applying its renewable energy systems and powering equipment in schools’ lighting and running computer labs, water desalination and irrigation projects.

In Lamu, the International Committee of the Red Cross-funded Kizingitini Water Plant uses a hybrid system of wind and solar to provide power for the water desalination.

With no access to grid power, the project produces up to 4,600 litres of water per day. Winafrique installed a 7.5KW Bergey wind turbine complemented with 10 solar panels to ensure a 24 hrs power supply.