Vodacom tests fuel-cell powered base-station at COP17

Over the past two weeks, Vodacom used a base-station powered by renewable energy and fuel-cells to provide cellphone service to over 15 000 delegates at the COP17 conference in Durban.

The hybrid-energy base-station uses wind, solar and fuel-cell energy to operate.

Vodacom developed a hybrid energy system which gets 30 percent of its energy from solar and wind power, and 70 percent from fuel-cell technology. The fuel cells used to power the tower are quiet, produce no particulate matter and produce very little emissions of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.

When used in combination with renewable energy, the hybrid system produces only 35 percent of the carbon dioxide a diesel generator would – or about 55 percent of the carbon dioxide that an average South African power grid typically produces.

The service available at COP17 included both GSM and HSDPA, which delivered voice and mobile broadband coverage to delegates and visitors. The company also provided UN officials with 500 handsets and SIM cards to ensure that they stayed connected during the conference.

This recent trial of going “green” follows similar tests by Vodafone, Vodacom’s parent company, at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year.

Source: Derrick Cramer, MyBroadBand.com