Denis Opudo
The fuel power manufacturer and solution provider GenCell Energy announced on 2nd July 2018 that Adrian Kenya would be responsible for installing the GenCell A5 Off-Grid Power Solution. The installation is to take place at the 800 telecom base stations within Kenya. Adrian Kenya is a leading integrator of telecom in Africa. The process of shipment and installation of the GenCell A5 fuel cell solution will kick-start in Q4 of 2018. The whole project is bringing in the green fuel cell power in a move to replace the noisy, costly and highly pollutant diesel generators. This will help Adrian Kenya to save up to $84 million of its expenditure in 10 years and reduce its carbon usage by 240,000 tons.
The GenCell A5 is the first off-grid main power alternative to the diesel generator that is pocket-friendly across Africa. It offers weather-independent, noise-free, ultra-reliable, and cost-effective power for poor-grid and off-grid telecom base stations. It provides that at a lower OPEX compared to diesel generators. According to Adrian Group’s MD Bernard Njoroge, diesel generators have been the primary source of power for poor-grid and off-grid base stations for the last 20 years. However, they currently do not go well with the modern businesses that aim at reducing the cost of OPEX.
He added that the ability of GenCell to come up with hydrogen from cheap ammonia to run its fuel cells is an excellent breakthrough with a significant impact on the telecom sector. People can now enjoy all the benefits that come with fuel cells. The benefits are the likes of ultra-reliable, zero emission, no noise, and low maintenance. Njoroge said that the installation of the GenCell A5 Off-Grid Power Solution is of great help to businesses and the environment. Its low maintenance cost lowers its OPEX for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Tower Management Companies (Towercos). One 12 ton tank of ammonia supplies the GenCell A5 with enough fuel for a full year at all time. This is different from a diesel generator that needs expensive monthly fueling and maintenance at every tower which is also time-consuming. Moreover, GenCell IoT Remote manager allows remote diagnostics, maintenance and monitoring of every fuel cell device minimizing the cost and frequency of engineer visits to the onsite.
The CEO of GenCell, Remi Reshef was happy to announce that Adrian Kenya of the first commercial client for the GenCell A5 Off-Grid Power Solution in Africa after its launch in Mid-June 2018. He added that the decision of Adrian Kenya to replace 800 diesel generators with GenCell’s fuel cell power solution shows the company’s vision and its business ability in having a friendly environment. Reshef said that the company believes that other MNOs and Towercos will relocate to the green fuel cell solutions to run their poor-grid and off-grid towers. According to him the OPEX saving of the GenCell A5 solutions will reduce the cost of connecting rural Kenya with power. Moreover, it will help in accessing communication and other services to 1.1 billion individuals who stay beyond the grid.
