Solar-and-battery phone masts keep marsh and island villages connected in storms

When a winter storm brought down power lines across the Saltings last season, the tidal villages lost electricity for almost three days. Phone coverage lasted barely four hours. The masts serving the marsh relied on mains power with small backup batteries, and once those ran down, residents were left without any way to call for help other than the single landline at the ferry stop.

That should not happen again. Over the past year, seven masts serving the Saltings, Fenwick Point and the small islands at the mouth of the River Asher have been rebuilt with their own solar arrays and lithium iron phosphate batteries. Each site can now run without mains power for at least 72 hours, and longer if the sun comes out, even partly.

The work was funded jointly by the national mobile operators and a government programme for coverage in remote areas. Engineers also fitted two of the masts with small wind turbines, since winter daylight in the bay can be short and grey.

Tested by the first gale

The new equipment faced its first real test a few weeks ago, when a gale cut power to around 900 homes on the marsh for 31 hours. All seven masts stayed online throughout. Data traffic on them rose by almost half as residents used their phones to check on neighbours and follow updates from the council.

Last time we felt cut off from the world. This time my phone never dropped a single bar.

Those were the words of Jean Halloran, a retired nurse who lives in one of the marsh villages and helps run its emergency volunteer group. Network engineer Callum Strachan, who oversaw the installations, said the masts send a remote alert when battery levels fall below 40 per cent, giving crews time to bring in a portable generator by boat if needed.

Batteries were the biggest challenge. Salt air corrodes standard enclosures, and the marsh sites can only be reached by boat or on foot at certain states of the tide. The cabinets were sealed and raised on platforms above the highest recorded flood level, and the battery packs were chosen for their tolerance of cold. Each mast costs about €160,000 to upgrade.

Coastal communities further along the bay have asked for the same upgrade. The operators say another 14 sites are under review, with priority given to places served by a single mast and those where the road floods at high tide.