Telecom Lead India: Annual deployments of off-grid power supplies, using renewable or alternative energy sources, for remote mobile base stations will grow from fewer than 13,000 in 2012 to more than 84,000 in 2020.
In all, more than 390,000 such base stations will be deployed from 2012 through 2020, according to Pike Research.
The off-grid base stations market is small when compared with grid-tied base stations (green base stations) which utilize renewable, battery, and fuel cell technologies.
The most common energy source for off-grid base stations for mobile telecommunications is diesel generators.
Pike Research director Kerry-Ann Adamson says the combination of increased energy costs and expanding policy directives from governments is creating pressure on the system.
The new technology offerings in remote base stations could become the industry norm within 10 years.
Because most off-grid base stations are in remote parts of the developing world, the market for off-grid base station power is also one area where the traditional early adopter nations, the United States, Japan, and Germany, lag behind nations such as China, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, and Indonesia.
Africa will account for more than 23,500 deployments in 2020 – 28 percent of the world total.
