Ericsson and Orange Guinea Conakry has announced plans to deploy 100 mobile phone base stations in Guinea that use power from solar panels and diesel batteries.
Orange Guinea Conakry hopes to reduce its electric bill and to lower greenhouse gas emissions using the special diesel batteries on the solar base stations designed to be recharged frequently without losing their effectiveness unlike rechargeable batteries. In a company statement, Ericsson said it had extended the battery life and generator, slashing energy costs by 50%.
"It is extremely exciting to be able to run sites on alternative energy sources," said Jan Embro, president of Ericsson for sub-Saharan Africa.
"Limiting dependency on fossil fuels brings many advantages, but the greatest is the ability to offer sustainable connectivity to low-income users in remote areas across Africa," he said.
The Orange Group plans to roll out more than 1,000 wholly solar-powered base stations in Africa by the end of 2009, the statement says. The company’s goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% before 2020.