Bharti's Cell towers to go green...

Telecom major, Bharti Airtel has undertaken a pilot project to run its telecom towers using environment friendly hydrogen as fuel. The project will be developed with French industrial gas company Air Liquide.

In the first phase, the French firm will test the technology with 10-15 sets, which will be expanded to most towers.

The investment will be around 200 to 500 Mn EURO depending on the rate of penetration of the hydro-fuelled towers.

According to Spark Network, around 30% of telecom towers in India run by diesel. Hence, there is a huge opportunity for renewable energy based technology.

With diesel generators that power over 4 lakh towers in the country consuming fuel worth over Rs 6,400 crore every year, the government has recently set up a panel to promote renewable energy to slash costs as well as hazardous carbon emissions.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) plans to provide subsidies and incentives to operators using renewable energy.

Some of the incentives include 30 per cent subsidy on the total cost of making 200 towers eco-friendly in a certain area and supporting the rollout of eco-friendly towers in rural areas.

Other benefits include the reduction in pollution, cutting down on diesel dependence and a decline in operating costs, he said.

A number of operators are already experimenting with alternative source of energy such as wind power and biofuels.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is looking at reducing the sector’s impact on the environment by introducing a carbon credit policy, the details of which are being worked out.