Indian Bharti Airtel turns to solar, wind for African telecom towers - report

Mar 20, 2012 - Indian telecoms company Bharti Airtel Ltd (BOM:532454) is progressing with a plan to install hybrid battery banks, solar and wind energy solutions at its tower sites across Africa, website Telegeography said on Monday.

The company has already cut the number of African towers powered by diesel generators by 60%, through connection to the grid where that is possible and through alternative energy solutions, the report said.

The website cited Bharti's chief technical officer Eben Albertyn as saying that the company has installed solar systems at 105 sites in Niger, so diesel generators there are used only for three to four hours.

Using solar, wind power and battery technologies at tower sites is in line with the telecom's strategy to cut its environmental impact. The move also allows Bharti to bring down its operating costs. According to the report, the company spends over UGX 1 billion (USD 403,000/EUR 305,000) a month on fuel for its off-grid towers in Uganda.

(UGX 1,000 = USD 0.403/EUR 0.304)

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