Ericsson unveils wind power for Tower Tube

Ericsson has unveiled its latest energy-optimized radio base station site concept, a research project for a pioneering wind-powered Tower Tube developed with Vertical Wind AB and Uppsala University in Sweden.
The project takes the energy-lean design of Ericsson's original Tower Tube one step further by employing renewable energy. It harnesses wind power via a four-blade turbine with five-meter blades vertically attached to the tower. The vertical rotor blades work silently and minimize the load on the tower during operation.
Trials will be conducted to determine if the design of the Ericsson Tower Tube and the vertical wind rotor blades work together to enable low-cost mobile communication, with reduced impacts on both the local and global environment.
The Tower Tube construction has a smaller footprint and lower environmental impact than traditional steel towers with CO2 emissions related to materials, such as production an transportation, that are at least 30% lower.
It also has no need for feeders and cooling systems. With up to 40% lower power consumption than traditional base station sites, it helps operators reduce their operating costs significantly.
The move follows a series of initiatives from Ericsson to improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental impacts and lower the costs of mobile networks for operators. These include: solar power for macro coverage base station sites; the BTS Power Savings feature that puts a network in stand-by mode during off-peak hours; biofuel-powered telecom sites; a hybrid solution using diesel and batteries; and the Village Solar Charger, co-developed with Sony Ericsson.