As Oasis evolves, we will become ever more focused on energy efficiency because it’s going to be a huge area over the coming years. We all, both domestically and commercially need to find ways of reducing energy so that we can get to grips with rising costs.
Energy efficicency is already a hot topic but I think the innovations in this area are only just beginning to take off. As such, one of the things that I shall be doing in this blog is drawing attention to ground breaking innovations in our space that might be relevant to you on a personal level, or if not, will hopefully be something of real interest.
Today, I want to draw your attention to a company and a solar innovation that’s going to change the lives of millions of people, specifically those living in rural developing countries. It’s an amazing invention from a company called VNL in India, and they are winning all sorts of accolades around the world. Time Magazine has profiled them under their feature on ‘Tech pioneers that will change your life’.
WorldGSM™ is the first solar powered mobile network designed from the ground up to serve rural populations in developing economies — and do it profitably. Basically, they have created a solar powered mobile phone base station that has no requirement for the electriciy grid. VNL’s base station needs less than 100 watts of power, costs $15,000 (vs. $100,000 for a conventional one) and is profitable at just $2 of revenue per user per month. Traditional GSM (global system for mobile communication) stations break even at $6.
What a fantastic innovation in the solar space!