Call for commitment to green telecom

NEW DELHI, INDIA: As the need to switch to renewable energy resources has become evident, a regulatory framework has become even more essential.

Speaking at 'Decarbonising Economy', the event organized by Greenpeace and CyberMedia in New Delhi, chairman of the British Telecom India and NASSCOM Board member Arun Seth said that climate change is a major concern today.

The country has to look at the radical changes that can facilitate development. As the demand for energy is rapidly increasing from supply side, Seth said, the investments in renewable, biomass and solar energy resources are required.

Over 65 per cent of the country is dependent on coal while 75 per cent of crude oil is being imported. It’s time to look at energy security, otherwise, the country would run out of fuel very soon, he warned.

There is a need to look at what we are storing for our future generation, he said. “Technology is a solution but there is a need to change behavior, though the cost of clean energy is higher than conventional energy,” Seth added.

The IT and telecom sector allow various distributed models, which need to be changed. “Wind energy project that was initiated recently produces 15,000 MW of power in the country,” said Seth.

The government came up with the National Solar Mission (NSM) in 2010 which is a mega project. The cost of solar energy has come down and the lowest price today, he said, is Rs 7.49 per unit.

The government has also set up the Solar Energy Corporation which helps in accomplishing the national mission. Solar thermal is the best technology but the need is to find the right balance. Seth also believes that funding mechanism should be in place.

By 2014, the British Telecom will leverage 35 per cent energy from clean technology resources. Though the telecom industry contributes roughly 2 per cent of the CHG emission the telecom sector is one of the drivers in green energy.

Seth said there is a need to reduce the load. “Base station needs to be redesigned so that the processes would consume 50 per cent of the energy which is being consumed today. These

will be rolled out by the end of this year,” he said.

“We have Rs 30,000 crore USO fund which focuses on enhancing tele-density. There is a need to allow USO fund to facilitate green energy practices in the BTS segment,” he added.

The government has done a commendable job to carry out national mission and all the industry players should work together, Seth concluded.