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Vodacom installs solar-powered sites in bid to lower carbon emissions

Three more sites have joined Vodacom’s growing number of sites being powered through renewable energy.

The three sites are located in Polokwane, Vereeniging and Bloemfontein, and all three are solar-powered. The sites are made possible through a R8 million investment from Vodacom.

“As the demand for digital services grows, we will need more energy to keep these services running. In anticipation of this growth, and despite the current economic challenges, we are investing in strategies to decrease our energy consumption while reducing the use carbon intensive sources of energy,” explained executive director of external affairs at Vodacom South Africa, Takalani Netshitenzhe.

There are as many as 1 088 solar-powered sites across all of Vodacom’s sites worldwide. Throughout 2020, Vodacom saved as much as 11 971MWh of electricity through its energy management strategy. Through the implementation of IoT tools and renewable energy solutions, Vodacom reduced its energy costs by R16 million in the previous financial year.

“By reducing our carbon footprint, our aim is to mitigate climate change and its effects on the planet. Solar-powered sites are just one of the innovative ways to introduce cleaner, more sustainable energy sources to keep our mobile networks running and our customers connected in an ever increasing digital society,” Netshitenzhe added.

The three sites in Polokwane, Vereeniging and Bloemfontein will generate as much as 127MWh of energy on a yearly basis. The solar panels will also ease the load on the sites’ batteries in the event of load-shedding, ensuring network reliability, quality and seamless connectivity for customers.

“At Vodacom, we want to ensure that as our business growth transforms society in a manner that will not come at the cost of the planet. We have made progress in our waste and water reduction strategies, however, energy consumption remains our largest environmental impact, requiring significant investment in order to reach the targets that we have set out to achieve. We are also working with government and other role players to explore ways in which to transition towards a sustainable, equitable and low carbon future,” Netshitenzhe concluded.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]

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