In the current issue of Ode Magazine, Marco Visscher reports on a Motorola mobile deployment in Namibia that relies on solar and wind power in areas where the infrastructure is otherwise unreliable.

"During the day, batteries in the cellphone base station are charged by solar panels; at night, by a wind turbine," Visscher wriets. "Last winter, the system worked so well that electricity was left over. In Dordabis, a village of 1,500 people located an hour's drive from the capital city of Windhoek, locals used the excess power in their homes. Motorola says the project has proven the feasibility of providing sustainable mobile telephone service to people in remote locations, thus bringing family members, business opportunities and health-care information one step closer."

"The cost of power is almost zero, and wind and solar powered cell sites require minimal maintenance unlike a diesel-driven generator which generally requires, at a minimum, a monthly visit for refuelling," notes Developing Telecoms' Michael Schwartz. "This translates into added savings in operating expenditure (OPEX), a key factor to emerging market network operators."

BBC News first reported this as a planned deployment more than a year ago.

More here from Wireless Federation ... more here from Cellular-News ... more here from Cleantech ... more here from Huliq ... more here from Pocket Picks ... and Motorola's full case study is here.