Photo shows a base station built by the nation's leading telecommunication operator China Mobile on Mt. Qomolangma, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo Source: chinamobile.com)
BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- China Mobile (CM), the country's leading telecommunication operator, has established the world's largest solar energy-powered base station cluster in Tibet Autonomous Region, following a four-year construction.
By the end of April, CM had set up at least 1,000 base stations in Tibet, with 78.79 percent powered by solar energy. The ratio is expected to have reached 90 percent by the end of 2010, said Dai Zhong, general manager of the Tibet Co. Ltd. of the CM Group.
In 2005, the Tibet Company launched the project to make the best of Tibet's abundant solar energy resources to boost the coverage of the regional communication network. Mobile signals are required to cover Tibet's urban and rural areas including tourist zones and frontier sentries.
Yang Shimao, a leading official of the Tibet Company said that a common base station may consume 3,600 kilowatts-hour of electricity each year with an annual bill of 43,200 yuan (5,227.43 U.S. dollars). However, a solar station costing one million yuan may save more energy and discharge less-carbon emission.
Experts also indicated that the wide application of such solar energy-powered base stations in Tibet has explored a market with one-billion-yuan consumption potential for those enterprises using photovoltaic technology and related products.