4 Sep 2009

Video: World's first alternative energy pilot site for wireless networks

In June 2009, Alcatel-Lucent announced the operational launch of the first alternative energy laboratory and pilot site in the world dedicated to the telecoms sector. Located on its Bell Labs research site in Villarceaux, France, this pilot site consists of a wireless base station powered by a hybrid system of solar panels and wind turbines, but not dependent on the electrical grid. At the same time, the laboratory section is researching other energy sources, such as fuel cells and bio-fuels.

This program builds on Alcatel-Lucent’s innovations to create more energy efficient wireless networks and leverage its experience deploying more than 300 radio sites powered by alternative energy sources.  The goal is to develop a mass-produced alternative energy solution capable of being deployed to more than 100,000 wireless base station sites through 2012.

In addition to opening up commercial opportunities in underserved areas, this initiative will help the industry address environmental challenges.  The communications industry is responsible for about 2 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, and the Alcatel-Lucent alternative energy station is one way the company is working to reduce that impact.  But even more significant, by expanding communications capabilities, it will help reduce overall carbon emissions by enabling innovative communications applications that will help other industries, such transportation, utilities and building management, reduce their impact no matter where they are located.

 
 

4 Responses to Video: World's first alternative energy pilot site for wireless networks

Feed For This Post
  1. Laura Lazarescou says:
    September 14, 2009 at 9:04 PM

    This is very exciting! What is the business case for this type of solution? In North America, there are vast expanses of rural territories that might benefit from this approach – and we have the Broadband Stimulus Budget to draw from. I’m curious to know if this is something we could take to US customers?

    Reply
    • @Stéphane says:
      September 16, 2009 at 8:36 AM

      Thank you for your comment – I’m forwarding your question to Christophe Grangeat and Frédéric Wauquiez, in charge of the Alternative energy program at Alcatel-Lucent. But clearly, this solution is not limited to areas without access to electricity. Read more about this in this post.

      Reply
  2. Koen Machiels says:
    September 24, 2009 at 9:06 AM

    Why did you select the Proven as Wind turbine?

    Reply
    • @Stéphane says:
      September 24, 2009 at 2:30 PM

      Hi Koen
      here’s what Christophe and Frédéric told me:
      As part of its Alternative Energy Program, Alcatel-Lucent is working with multiple partners. The wind turbine on the video is one of the designs that we are currently investigating as part of our test and qualification process.

      Reply

Post a comment

Comments are moderated and will be published/addressed upon review. Your email adress will not be published.

Required fields are marked *

*

CAPTCHA Image

*

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Legal disclaimer
People posting to this web site, including moderators and authors, may include employees of Alcatel-Lucent. Opinions and comments expressed herein are the personal opinions of the commenter, not of Alcatel-Lucent. The content provided here is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be an endorsement or representation by Alcatel-Lucent or any other party. This web site is publically accessible. Do not post any information you consider confidential to this site. Do not post any personal data related to others unless you have their consent. By posting content to Alcatel-Lucent's The Blog, you agree to be solely responsible for all information you contribute and thereby release Alcatel-Lucent from any liability related to your use of this site. By contributing a post, you also grant Alcatel-Lucent all rights to any original content you provide.