Airtel's Solar initiatives drive green network solutions

Telecommunications service provider, Bharti Airtel places a strong emphasis on sustainability in its mission to provide eco-friendly technology. This is supported by a number of examples, one of which is Airtel 5G Plus. Airtel claimed that their 5G technology was more energy-efficient when it first introduced its 5G services. Airtel's website claims that compared to the current 4G technology, its 5G network uses a lot less energy per gigabyte of data transferred. 

During the company's Q2 (for the period ending 30 September , 2024) earnings call, Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bharti Airtel Limited, provided an update on the company's progress. He stated that Airtel had solarised over 3,500 sites during the quarter and roughly 24,800 sites over the previous five quarters. 

Over the past two years, our efforts to lessen the environmental impact have resulted in monthly savings of over 2 million litres of diesel, which translates into an elimination of over 5.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Lithium-ion and valve-regulating lead acid batteries, among other strategies, have been used to do this," Gopal said. 

Furthermore, Airtel and Nokia have worked together to develop energy-efficient practices and solutions for Airtel's mobile network, which is expected to reduce Airtel's carbon emissions by an estimated 143,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per year.

Read More: Bharti Airtel initiates Green 5G Project to boost energy efficient

In order to meet its ambitious emissions reduction targets, Airtel says it is putting in place a number of important measures, such as encouraging energy efficiency, utilising open-access green energy, and integrating renewable energy sources across its network.

"The company is also building a more climate-resilient infrastructure, improving resource efficiency, and enhancing waste management practices," stated Airtel.

Additionally, Airtel has installed solar-powered systems at about 25,000 locations to far. In FY2024, it also significantly increased the amount of renewable energy used at its data centres, procuring 220,541 MWh through captive solar rooftop plants and green power wheeling agreements. 

Despite a 25% rise in power use, the company's data centre division, Nxtra, purportedly reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 4% when compared to FY21.

"Our use of renewable energy has increased by 41% from FY23 to over 220 megawatts. Through a number of programs, Nxtra also reduced CO2 emissions by more than 160,000 tonnes. We are pleased to announce that all of our hyperscale data centres have earned IGBC Gold Certification, demonstrating our dedication to environmentally friendly building practices', Vittal continued.