T-Mobile making solar part of cellular on one U.S. site, keep it coming!

The mobile phone industry is poised to replace computers as the dominant form of technology productivity, and that makes it an industry to watch in terms of how it’s taking responsibility for the pollution it creates. While certainly a small step in the grand scheme, T-Mobile just finished installing 12 solar panels on a site in Chelfont, Pennsylvania. That’s a bit unique because usually carriers install solar panels in developing countries where other power sources are scarce and towers are widely separated.

One reason for that likely is the time investment required before solar panels begin to make a return on investment from energy savings. But there are other benefits in this case, beyond the consistent reduction in power needed from the grid. Consider a circumstance where power from the grid is unavailable, electricity from solar panels would be a good emergency alternative to a diesel generator. It also provides an opportunity for T-Mobile to market itself as green, though to authentically make strong claims it would need to expand installations like this one to many more markets.

Of course, the most obvious way to reduce power consumption is to make the cellular towers themselves more efficient. Renewable energy like solar and wind certainly makes an improvement but sweeping changes are possible in power management. Given the prevalence of cellular phone service and its continuing expansion, gaining efficiencies will be important.

Reducing power consumption is only part of the footprint created by carriers - their outputs also consume a large portion of space in landfills. Some carriers are addressing this with a trade-in program that gives customers credits for turning in their old device. Enterprising mobile users can also resell a functioning device on eBay which itself is a huge platform for recycling goods of all kinds.

Even though it’s small, T-Mobile is doing something good by beginning to experiment with solar on cell towers in the United States. The company was also mum on how much power the panels provide, only mentioning that it’s enough to sometimes take the tower off the grid and sometimes sell power back. Now if they can make mobile phones themselves last a whole day from a few minutes’ charge in the sun, I’d be beside myself.