NEC says it has completed a demonstration project in India to introduce energy management technology utilizing renewable energy, lithium-ion rechargeable battery systems and artificial intelligence at telecom tower sites with unstable power supplies.
Mobile operators in India often outsource ownership and operations to tower companies in order to secure and maintain facilities such as towers and power equipment. Due to cost reductions and conditions outlined in the Indian government’s Green Telecom policy, tower companies are now required to reduce fuel consumption by diesel generators typically used as backup in case of power failures. Also, the need to lower CO2 emissions is also becoming an important issue for business managers, as well as a major social concern.
In order to address these issues, the Japanese and Indian governments have collaborated in the creation of a demonstration project by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
NEC was selected to implement the project in 2014. Since then, NEC says it has confirmed reductions in diesel fuel consumption, energy costs and CO2 emissions, in addition to confirming the reliability of prediction technologies enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI) (estimating power failures, recovery times, etc.), the safety of lithium-ion batteries and a reduction in TCO.
“With approximately 400,000 telecom tower sites throughout India, there is a great deal of promise for these technologies to significantly reduce the impact on our environment, while improving business conditions,” said Michihiro Ezawa, GM of NEC’s ESS division.
NEC’s next move is to verify business models that will enable commercialization of these technologies in FY2019.
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