ICT and renewable energy: a way forward to the next generation telecom base stations

The tremendous growth in technology is also causing global warming due to harmful greenhouse gas emissions. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is one of the fastest growing, having the greatest impact on almost every other technology. Energy efficiency and reduction in global warming is now a desire and realization by all key players associated with this technology. Not only there is scope for energy efficiency in ICTs itself but it can also help other sectors in becoming smart i.e., energy efficient. Smart buildings, smart motors, smart logistics and smart grids are being realized with the incorporation of information and communication technologies. The ICT industry is equally aware of the potential benefits of renewable energy sources (RES) in making the future systems greener and sustainable. This is quite evident from the research that is going on towards sustainable ICT solutions, as reviewed in this paper. Not only renewable energy is applicable to large scale applications like telecom base stations (BS), it is also applicable to small and medium scale systems and devices like computer peripherals and electric vehicles. In order to explore the evident potential of RES, all aspects of renewable energy are being addressed by the researchers. These aspects can broadly be categorized as generation, distribution, management and most significantly application of renewable energy. This paper takes a broader look at both aspects in which ICTs are making our world eco-sustainable i.e., making other technologies smarter and incorporating renewable energy sources wherever possible.