Smart goes green on cell sites

IN a welcome eco-friendly move, telecom leader Smart, having previously harnessed wind and solar energy to power cell sites, is set on deploying fuel cell technology as part of its “Alternative Power for Cell Sites” program—the first industry player to do so.

Smart won the newly introduced “Green Mobile Award” at the 2009 GSMA Awards in Barcelona, Spain for its program promoting the use of wind and solar energy to power cell sites in remote areas of the country.

“Using alternative power sources like fuel cells allows Smart to conduct its business with minimal impact on our environment, especially since we have the most number of cell sites spread throughout the country,” said Mario Tamayo, head of Smart’s Network and Platforms Services Division (NPSD).

The company is initially planning to use fuel cell technology instead of diesel generator sets as backup power supply in six cell sites, having joined up with a global fuel cell solutions provider to successfully test the earth-friendly power supply solution in its cell sites outside Manila.

Fuel cells convert chemical energy into electricity to generate power. Hydrogen, natural gas or liquid methanol may be used for fuel cell solutions to work, but fuel cell system that Smart tested is powered by a combination of 60-percent methanol and 40-percent water. Methanol fuel is eco-friendly since it is easily biodegradable, can be stored for a long time and is easy to transport. It is set to test other types of fuel cell solutions available in the market.

By replacing diesel generator sets with fuel cell technology, the company not only reduces carbon emission and noise pollution, but also huge maintenance costs brought about by diesel prices and hauling expenses.

Fuel cell solutions are self-reliant, virtually maintenance-free and environment-friendly. System monitoring may be done remotely. Since the system is enclosed, any noise emitted is barely audible. Maintenance required would be the annual replacement of the air filters. Once the fuel cell stack is due for replacement, it can be sent back to the supplier for recycling.

“The fuel cell solution we tested has a lifetime of about 2,000 to 4,000 operation hours. This seems suitable if the fuel cell will only be used for backup power of a cell site,” said NPSD senior manager Jun Costes.

 A feature of the recently tested fuel cell system is an on-demand conversion of hydrogen gas to generate power. When the grid is able to supply electricity to the cell site, the fuel cell system is on standby mode. The system does not use hydrogen cylinders, which eliminates safety concerns such as hydrogen leaks.

“When we tested the liquid fuel-powered fuel cell system, we noted that 200 liters of the liquid fuel can provide as much as 100 hours of 2.5KW power for smaller cell sites or up to 40 hours of 5KW power for the bigger cell sites,” said NPSD specialist Davidson Sevilleja.

To date, Smart has about 70 cell sites in different areas across the Philippines powered by renewable energy. Of this figure, 41 are run by wind energy while 29 are hybrid— using both wind and solar energy. An additional 40 hybrid-powered cell sites are scheduled to be deployed by the end of the year.

It started working with a local vendor in December 2006 to set up the Philippines’ first wind-powered cell site in Sitio Guimbitayan on Malapascua Island, an island northeast of Cebu province in the Visayas region.

In the latter part of 2008, a GSMA Development Fund survey of 25 mobile operators across the developing world that use renewable energy sources revealed that Smart is the leader among mobile network operators worldwide in using wind energy to power its cell sites.–Rene Martel, Manila Times

— bizzfizz_98@yahoo.com