By Greentech Lead Team: Idea Cellular, third largest
mobile service provider by revenue in India, has launched green telecom towers
in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh.
The towers are being powered by hydrogen, obtained as
by-product of the chlor-alkali, which would otherwise use diesel to run
generators in the absence of power from grid.
”Fuel cell-based power generation is reliable and
efficient, with green attributes. As leaders in the hunt for cost effective
substitutes for fossil fuels, we will ensure we will explore all opportunities
to enhance our sustainability commitments,” said Anil Tandan, chief technology
Officer of Idea Cellular.
”This project will be the first of its kind in India and
will project the group as pioneers in green energy initiatives,'” said K
Suresh, Unit Head of Chemical Division, Grasim.
The company will deploy fuel cell systems near Grasim’s
chemical division in Madhya Pradesh.
Ballard
Power Systems has announced that fuel cell systems manufactured by Dantherm
Power, its backup power company, are being deployed in the Idea Cellular
wireless telecommunications network in India.
Idea
Cellular has more than 100 million subscribers generating in excess of
one-billion minutes of communications traffic each day across its network of 70,000
cell sites.
Fuel
cell systems will be deployed at cell tower locations in close proximity to an
Aditya Birla Group chemical plant in the region of Nadga, Madhya Pradesh.
During the production of caustic soda at the plant, hydrogen is also produced as
a by-product.
This
hydrogen, and hydrogen produced at other Aditya Birla Group chemical plants in
India, has traditionally been used in boilers or has been sold to third party
vendors. However, Dantherm Power’s DBX2000 systems which are powered by Ballard
fuel cell stacks will use this hydrogen as fuel. This will displace diesel
generators that are currently required to operate on a near-daily basis, due to
frequent grid power outages.
“There
is a tremendous opportunity for clean energy solutions in the fast-growing
India market. This initial deployment with Idea Cellular is an exciting step in
validating the financial and environmental benefits of our fuel cell products
to Idea Cellular and to prospects in India,” said John Sheridan, Ballard
President and CEO.
Dantherm
Power and Delta Power Solutions (India) operate jointly under a 2011
collaboration agreement. Delta will integrate and install Dantherm Power’s
DBX2000 systems into a hybrid power solution at Idea Cellular sites and will
then provide operational support for these systems under a 10-year service
agreement with Idea Cellular.
The
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a directive in January,
2012 requiring 50 percent of all rural telecom base station towers and 33
percent of all urban towers in the country to be powered by hybrid solutions
within 5-years. Hybrid solutions involve a combination of renewable energy
sources, such as hydrogen fuel cells, and grid electricity.