Bangladesh-based Robi Axiata stepped-up efforts to boost the use of renewable energy to ease pressure on the nation’s electricity grid, powering more than 1,600 base stations with solar cells.

In a statement, the operator claimed it is the first in the country to use tower-mounted solar cells to power its equipment.

The solar cells powering base stations generate some 8.4MW.

Robi also installed solar panels at its headquarters which produce 10KW of power.

Other steps to reduce energy consumption at its facilities include turning off generators and lifts on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Transport arrangements for employees are also unavailable on these days.

The operator committed to parent company Axiata’s green initiative and is on track to achieve 55 per cent carbon reduction by 2030 and attain net-zero emission by 2050.

Robi is the second-largest mobile player in Bangladesh with 54 million connections, behind Grameenphone on 84.7 million, Q2 data from GSMA Intelligence showed.