As part of its Green Power for Mobile program, the GSM Association is working with Dialog Telekom to deploy 10 solar and wind-powered basestations in Sri Lanka. The trial will include five off-grid and five on-grid basestations. Two sites have opened this month and eight will go live in March and April.

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The goal of the trial is to use a number of different scenarios with equipment from eight vendors to demonstrate the range of options available and the commercial viability of rolling out mobile networks using renewable energy sources. The basestations rely on a sophisticated method for calculating the optimum mix between solar and wind technology, such as the size of the wind turbine or solar panels. The GSMA says the sites should save up to 109,000 liters of diesel fuel a year and cut carbon emissions by up to 294 metric tons a year.

"Being able to use practical, cost-effective, and renewable sources of power is crucial for operators wanting to provide a broad range of mobile coverage, over vast rural areas, far beyond the reach of national electricity grids," said Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer for the GSMA. "Dialog Telekom, as part of the GSMA's Green Power for Mobile program, has used a number of different scenarios to prove to the industry that renewable energy is a real and viable alternative to on-grid and generator power."