One of the best ways to cut operating costs, enhance fail-safety and be green - integrate renewable energy in your broadband system. Solar and small wind are the most popular renewable energy sources; one or both of these solutions can easily be integrated and provide clean and dependable energy across most of the United States.
Renewable energy systems can be added to existing powerline connections or as primary power. Renewables provide a stable and clean power source, and for telco equipment running at -48v DC power it is especially a great solution. The conversion of power to 120VAC and -48 both lose some energy efficiency out of the renewable source, but with the right system design can easily be covered.
Outside of the technical advantages, it can have a positive effect on the bottom line. Where renewable energy is used as a primary source, it means a one-time capital expense that has excellent payout as compared to expensive and unstable energy costs. As a secondary source, you will experience a more reliable system with less emergency maintenance, and even increased customer satisfaction due to increased uptime.
Renewable energy integration is a highly specialized system integration and is best done by a professional firm with experience in design and implementation of these systems. Consideration for geography, power requirements, power storage, environment (eg. temperature), power conversion and powerline integration are some of the issues a knowledge engineering design firm can easily address.