Vodacom to roll-out solar panels at base station controllers across the country

Vodacom has installed solar panels to supplement the energy supply of its Randburg base station controller.

The new solar panels will help generate more than 50,000kWh of energy on an annual basis, and will help reduce carbon footprint, lower its electricity usage and reduce the base station controller’s reliance on batteries in the event of load-shedding, Vodacom said.

Vodacom said its primary source of energy is electricity from the grid which is generated from coal, hence the company’s main source of Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is from the use of electricity to power its infrastructure.

“The challenge with GHG emissions is that it causes climate change, resulting in increased extreme weather events such as floods and drought. This will have a dire impact on communities if not mitigated or managed.

“Further, South Africa has in recent times been impacted by inconsistent supply of electricity, with capacity constraints resulting in load-shedding, which has an impact on network reliability and operational costs,” Vodacom said.

The operator said that the  solar panels will reduce the load on the station controller’s batteries.

“The continuation of our investment in cleaner sources of energy shows Vodacom’s commitment to the sustainable growth of our operation and sustainability strategy where the protection of our planet remains key,” said Takalani Netshitenzhe, chief officer of corporate affairs at Vodacom.

“In the past, we’ve installed solar panels at Vodacom offices as well as in our network infrastructure, however using solar energy to power our base station controllers is an area of opportunity for us.”

Netshitenzhe said that Vodacom plans to rollout similar energy-saving solar panels to base station controllers across the country in the near future.