Small wind turbines to power telecom towers in Rajasthan, India: A case study

India has the second largest telecom network in the world, with approximately 440,000 telecom towers forming the backbone of the country’s telecom industry. Due to the unreliability of the electrical power grid, tower infrastructure businesses rely on diesel generators, batteries, and a variety of power management devices to back up the grid and ensure network availability. The rising cost of energy as a result of increased diesel prices, combined with growing concerns about air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, is driving the search for innovative and alternative ways to power telecom towers. Numerous strategies for demand management, supply management, and/or renewable energy management are being implemented. While renewable energy technologies present unique challenges, adopting renewable energy to power telecom towers will result in significant benefits for telecom tower infrastructure companies, including a reduction in carbon emissions. By examining a case study in the Rajasthan district of Jaisalmer, the author hopes to advance the concept of mounting small wind turbines atop telecom towers in order to demonstrate their effectiveness and to spur a large-scale deployment initiative in such areas.