Telecom firms will make annual energy savings of as much as R10,000 crore over the next eight years if they adopt the Centre?s green telecom directive and phase out diesel consumption by 2020, a report released by an international NGO said on Tuesday.
According to the green directive, service providers have to ensure at least 75% of all telecom towers in rural areas and 33% in urban areas run on hybrid power ? a combination of renewable energy and grid power ? by 2020.
The directive is based on recommendations made by the sector regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority (Trai). The report titled ?Enabling Green Talking? ? jointly prepared by Greenpeace India and Chennai-based Energy Alternative India ? outlines an economic and environmental roadmap for the implementation of Trai’s green directive.
As per the report, in the best-case scenario, there is a return on investment to the tune of R13,000 crore for Indian telecom industry if it phases out diesel completely and replaces it with renewable energy technologies by 2020.
The report suggests that the telecom operators should reduce their carbon emission by 40 % (with 2011 as the base year), to enable effective transition to low-carbon business model.
“The telecom sector is well positioned to transit to a low-carbon growth trajector. They must use their influence,? said Mrinmoy Chattaraj, Greenpeace India Campaigner and co-author of the report.