The GSM Association has stepped up its push to promote green technology with a new program that aims to establish 118,000  new and existing base stations using alternate power sources in developing markets by 2012.

Backed by 25 mobile operators, the Green Power for Mobile program, launched on Thursday, will provide expertise to support the deployment of off-grid base stations that use renewable energy such as solar, wind, or sustainable biofuels instead of diesel generators.

The GSMA forecasts that by 2012, up to half of new off-grid base stations in the developing world could be powered by renewable energy.

The GSMA also said the program’s target of 118,000 such base stations by then could save up to 2.5 billion litres of diesel a year and cut annual carbon emissions by up to 6.3 million tons.

Cellcos in emerging markets are increasingly keen to try power alternatives that allow them to deploy towers in under-served rural areas where power grids are unreliable or non-existent without spending a fortune on diesel fuel.

The GSMA claims that falling renewable equipment costs mean that operators investing in green power sources for base stations could recoup the capital costs in as little as 24 months.

But according to the GSMA Development Fund, which has been working with operators in India and Vanuatu to trial green-powered base stations, only 1,500 base stations worldwide are currently powered by at least one form of renewable energy, due largely to the nascent status of the green base station power sector.

Another issue has been the question of biofuel production, which has generated controversy in cases where biofuel development has reportedly cut into food supplies.

Consequently, the GSMA has narrowly tailored its definition of “biofuel” to include such fuels that are not produced on deforested land strictly for biofuel crops. Biofuels approved by the GSMA must also “result in lower carbon emissions than diesel when calculated on a whole of life basis and taking into account the effect of land use changes” and contribute “to the social and economic development of local, rural and indigenous peoples and communities.”

Its biofuel trial with Idea Cellular last year utilized biofuel produced from used cooking oil in nearby restaurants.

Cellcos participating in the program include AXIS, Bharti, Dialog, Digicel, Idea Cellular, Indosat, Econet, Grameenphone, Mobinil, MTC Namibia, MTN Cameroon, MTN Group, MTN Nigeria, MTN Uganda, Orange, Orascom Telecom Holding, Roshan, Safaricom, Smart, Telefonica, Telenor Pakistan, Vimpelcom, Vodacom Tanzania, Vodafone Egypt, Zain Group and Zantel.

Source:telecomasia.net