Vodafone has announced that it is deploying solar panels at a mobile telephone exchange site in Gloucester, England, to cover approximately 12% of the site’s annual energy consumption requirements. This is in line with its wider energy efficiency goals and 2027 net-zero pledge.
The telecoms provider outlined that the site will see 720 solar panels installed, for an estimated 240,000kW hours of energy per year. This deployment of solar panels will reportedly be a fixture in the company’s energy strategy in the coming years.
Vodafone
Commenting on the solar panel deployment, Andrea Dona, UK network director at Vodafone, said that the need to drive energy efficiencies “both from a financial and environmental perspective” is widely recognized. Dona highlighted the company’s ability to “decouple” the link between data carried, energy consumption, and carbon emissions due to Vodafone’s “laser-focus” on energy efficiency.
Further, Dona highlighted the company’s use of its own technologies to deliver programs such as big data and Smart Sites, the latter of which are deployed at the 1,300 locations with the highest energy consumption. The sites reportedly combine IoT and AI for remote monitoring, meaning that the need for engineering visits is reduced. “Onsite power generation is another important ambition, and I’m delighted we now have our first on-site solar up and running at our Gloucester MTX,” Dona added.
