Christchurch Fibre Broadband Company Enable To Power Up Their Solar Efforts

Enable fibre broadband has begun the installation of solar panels on some of the buildings that power Enable’s fibre network, known as Central Offices. This is an important project for Enable’s sustainability goals as they work towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2030.

Once the installation of the solar panels across all of Enable’s Central Offices is complete, it is expected the project will save approximately 20% of the power consumed in the running of their Central Offices annually – the equivalent of flying from Christchurch to Auckland 117 times.

The pilot began with the installation of solar at their Mount Pleasant Central Office, serving around 12,000 customers.

Enable has now completed the installation of solar panels to their Burwood and Rolleston Central Offices, with Burwood serving 24,000 customers and Rolleston 12,000 respectively.

CEO of Enable, Johnathan Eele says Enable is excited to take this crucial step in its sustainability journey.

“Enable is 100% owned by the people of Ōtautahi. We have a responsibility to our community to be the best kaitiaki we can be, not only for now but for future generations.”

“It's also important to us that our community feels proud knowing the infrastructure that supports their fibre broadband is environmentally and socially sustainable.”

Enable is working closely with the Christchurch City Council and other CCHL subsidiaries to help support the update of solar in Ōtautahi, and to help contribute to the Christchurch City Council’s goal for the city to have net zero emissions by 2045.

In 2021, research completed by Sapere Research Group found that fibre is the lowest emission broadband technology compared with copper-based VDSL, Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) and 4G and 5G fixed wireless.

Johnathan says sustainability is at the forefront of Enable’s mind and this research is empowering for the business.

“Ultimately, we want our customers to feel informed in their purchasing decisions about fibre. Now, we can confidently say that fibre is the most sustainable option for our consumers.”

“We have also converted 70% of our car fleet to electric or hybrid, with plans to have a fully electric fleet by 2025”

© Scoop Media