Westport Makes Commitment to Action at 2012 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting

published: September 24, 2012

Tower Power:  Improving Air Quality and Electricity Access in India

NEW YORK - Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT) ( NASDAQ:WPRT), the global leader in natural gas engines, is bringing its expertise to help improve air quality and access to electricity in rural India, through a Commitment to Action announced at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting.

Westport and its partners' Commitment to Action aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from mobile phone tower generators by using natural gas, while also providing residual power to nearby villages that are currently off the grid.

India's electric grid is challenged by a growing number of mobile phone towers, and many are powered totally or in part by diesel generators. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), there are close to 400,000 off-grid mobile phone towers in the country which use about two billion litres of fuel annually. This releases 6.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), making these towers the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

"By 2015, there will be close to a billion mobile phone users in India, so there's an urgent need for cleaner energy sources to power the industry," said Nicholas Sonntag, Westport Executive Vice President of Corporate Development & New Partnerships. "Westport has an opportunity to apply its expertise in natural gas transportation technology to find solutions for telecom and community power."

The CGI Commitment to Action, "Tower Power: Helping Rural Communities Establish Clean Energy Solutions," aims to identify and develop a natural gas fuel supply, engine technology, and power distribution that will reduce emissions, and create a consistent and reliable power supply to the phone towers. Another critical benefit is the ability to direct residual power to local communities for other needs.

Project partners include non-profits Development Alternatives, Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA), along with regional power producers and fuel providers. If the project is successful, this solution could be applied in other jurisdictions that face similar challenges. Over the next three years, the team will pilot this project on five sites by developing technology, researching gaseous fuel options, creating a fuel supply, and determining how best to distribute the power generated.

This project supports the goal of TRAI to reduce the diesel dependence of mobile phone towers, and cut carbon emissions by operating at least half of all rural towers, and 20 percent of urban towers, on non-diesel power sources by 2015.

Quick facts:

• The Indian Telecom Market is currently growing by 10 million customers per month.
• In 2010, 64.5 percent of India had electricity; 93.1 percent of the urban population had access, and 52.5 percent of the rural population had access.
• In 2011, there were over 390,000 telecom towers in India. There are expected to be 500,000 towers by 2015, and one billion cell phone users.
• Mobile phone towers in India consume approximately 2 billion litres of diesel fuel annually and release more than 6.5 million tonnes of CO2
• Of the existing 390,000 towers, 82 percent are connected to the grid and 18 percent are off-grid. Out of the total on-grid, only 169,000 have reliable connections.