FG Wilson rings up Papua New Guinea success

FG Wilson has supplied gensets to help a major telecoms operator make huge operational cost savings on a solar hybrid power solution across Papua New Guinea.

PowerOasis, a leading supplier of telecoms power solutions for remote and off-grid sites, successfully delivered the innovative project on behalf of Digicel – one of the region’s largest telecoms operators.

Close monitoring of the project during the first year of operation has revealed an operational cost saving of over $40,000 (€36,000) and a 72% reduction in diesel fuel consumption.

The solar hybrid power solution involved the installation of 25 FG Wilson generator sets – a combination of P11-6S (11 kVA) and P16.5-6S (16 kVA) - all of which included integrated 1,000 litre fuel tanks and extended service engines - helping to reduce maintenance requirements and increase service intervals to 1,000 hours.

John O’Donohue, CEO of PowerOasis, commented: “The key objective of the solution for Digicel was to significantly reduce overall operational costs, and choosing FG Wilson generator sets was key to successfully achieving this.

“We know through experience that FG Wilson generator sets are relatively easy to install and major cost savings were made at the outset as it took less than five days to deploy the site, rather the 12-15 day deployment time which is often the case.

“Given the extreme remoteness of a lot of the Papua New Guinea sites and the challenging nature of the terrain, durability was a vital attribute for the generator sets. The fuel tanks on which the generator sets are mounted played an important role in ensuring their reliability and in protecting against fuel theft, which can be a major burden on costs for off-grid projects.

“Digicel’s specifications required a solution which would significantly decrease fuel consumption and achieve more cost-effective maintenance intervals. Through the hybrid power solution we have managed to deliver a project which has required no more than five site maintenance visits and diesel refuels a year.”

Stephen McKinty, general manager of FG Wilson, said: “The PowerOasis solution optimises the energy captured from sunlight which helps lead to cost savings in diesel fuel, reduced servicing overheads and prolonged generator life.

“Improvements in site availability leads to further business benefits, including reduced subscriber churn and increased revenue generation. The direct costs savings result in a rapid return on investment in the solar upgrade to the generator/battery hybrid solution.”