PowerOasis Products Target Telco Savings of Over $4Billion a Year in Diesel Costs
PowerOasis Limited extended its sustainable energy product portfolio by launching two new products designed to cut diesel consumption by over 50%, reduce refuelling and maintenance visits and increase site availability for generator powered base stations.
The PowerOasis Controller (D) is a smart hybrid generator-battery power controller that reduces fuel consumption and extends equipment life through optimized generator run time and by using batteries for energy storage and to power the telecoms loads.
The PowerOasis Manager is a multi-site remote monitoring, control and measurement system to efficiently maintain site availability and reduce truck rolls by metering fuel consumption and by managing network power performance against key performance indicators (KPIs).
According to the company, there are over 450K mobile telecommunications base stations around the World powered by generators. This number is set to increase by at least 50% over the next 4 years due to significant growth in developing markets. Many of these sites cannot access a reliable electricity grid, forcing the installation of diesel generators, which are expensive to fuel, service and replace.
Nick Smailes, PowerOasis CEO, commented "As margins come under increasing pressure due to reducing per subscriber revenue, there is a greater need for mobile network operators to optimize their cost structures, particularly network power." Nick added "For operators managing existing networks and rolling out new networks in remote markets, the need for reliable, efficient power sources has become a critical factor – the difference between profit and loss."
PowerOasis already has an enviable reputation for its renewable energy products and expertise. Its existing PowerOasis Controller– uses wind and/or solar power to supplement or replace diesel generators with alternative energy and to manage unreliable grid power when present. Although the number of base stations using renewable energy is due to accelerate over the coming years, there is still a need for a solution to immediately reduce diesel consumption with an upgrade path to add renewable power in the future to achieve additional fuel savings.
The PowerOasis Controller (D) and PowerOasis Manager can evidence over 50% reduction in fuel consumption and a 70% reduction in generator run time with a typical return on investment period of less than 12 months when compared to traditional twin-generator deployments. Higher diesel savings are achievable for alternative load, generator and battery configurations. Additionally, PowerOasis can demonstrate a battery service life that is close to 5 years through optimized battery charge control management, in compliance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Smailes concluded "If all generator powered bases stations adopted the PowerOasis smart hybrid solution, the industry could achieve an annual diesel cost saving of approximately $4Bn (assuming $1 per litre) and a CO2 emissions saving of 10M tonnes by 2013, not to mention the optimised site OPEX and maximised network availability that our products provide".
