A trial of the UK’s first self-powered mobile mast towers has gone live, as Vodafone has flicked the switch on the first one in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
The mast is powered by wind and solar energy and Vodafone hopes to show that consistent mobile coverage can be provided without the need to be connected to the national energy grid.
As well as reducing energy consumption in future networks, it is hoped that self-powered masts can help provide mobile coverage to current ‘not spots’ in remote and inaccessible areas.
The mobile industry has set itself a target of reaching 95% of the UK’s landmass by 2025 and this technology could help in that aim.
The mast itself uses a special wind turbine designed by green tech specialist Crossflow Energy that the company says can produce energy even in light winds.
It can be installed without the need to dig extensive trenches for electricity cables, further reducing the mast’s impact on its environment.
Vodafone also considers the mast to be “extremely quiet”, which could make it a viable alternative for officially designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other sensitive sites.
The pilot mast is installed in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where it will service the community of Eglwyswrw.
Pilot mast has back-up access to the grid to ensure coverage
To ensure that residents of the village can access full coverage during the trial, this first mast has actually been retrofitted into an existing mast site.
This is connected to the energy grid, so, while it is hoped that wind and solar will provide most of the power needed, there will be a back-up to ensure connection.
Future installations that are not connected to the grid will also be provided with a back-up power source, and Vodafone says that it is considering a range of options such as on-site battery storage.
Elsewhere, mobile provider JT has installed a series of solar panels to investigate whether the small community of Little Sark could receive their mobile coverage entirely from renewables.
Little Sark is a peninsula forming the southern section of the Channel Island of Sark.
If the panels provide enough energy to power the antenna and mobile network, the model could be used at other sites in the Channel Islands and potentially in other remote and sparsely populated locations.
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