Finding New Power in Existing Infrastructure
- Rich Washburn
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Innovation doesn’t always come from building something new. Often, it comes from looking at what already exists and asking a better question.
That question isn’t “What was this built for?” It’s “What else could this become?” A recent example out of Switzerland illustrates this perfectly. At a former satellite teleport in the Alps, large, obsolete satellite dishes are being repurposed as solar power systems. Structures once designed to communicate with space are now tracking the sun—generating renewable energy in an environment uniquely suited for it.
It’s a clever reuse of hardware. But more importantly, it highlights a larger shift in how critical infrastructure is being re-evaluated.
Infrastructure Was Built to Last — Not to Be Disposable
Satellite ground stations, teleports, and data centers share a common set of characteristics:
They are capital-intensive and mechanically robust
They’re designed for precision, uptime, and longevity
They occupy valuable physical space
They consume significant amounts of power
In other words, they were never meant to be temporary.
Satellite dishes, in particular, are feats of engineering. They’re structurally reinforced, motorized, and capable of precise movement over decades of operation. That makes them uniquely adaptable—capable of doing far more than their original mission once that mission evolves. When those same structures are viewed through an energy lens, their potential changes entirely.
From Static Assets to Active Systems
Traditional solar installations rely on fixed-angle panels. They work—but they’re passive.
By contrast, repurposed satellite antennas can dynamically track the sun throughout the day, improving efficiency during low-angle conditions and winter months. What was once a communications device becomes an active energy system, not just a mounted panel.
This kind of reuse isn’t about novelty. It’s about systems efficiency—extracting additional value from assets that already exist, are already paid for, and are already engineered to survive harsh conditions.
Why This Matters for Data and Energy Infrastructure
As data centers, AI platforms, and communications hubs scale, power certainty is becoming just as important as bandwidth and compute.
The old model was simple: Connect to the grid. Add generators. Plan for outages.
That model still works—but it’s no longer sufficient on its own.
Modern infrastructure has to be:
More adaptive
More resilient
More integrated
When energy generation, connectivity, and compute coexist within the same physical footprint, opportunities emerge. Infrastructure stops being a collection of isolated systems and starts behaving like a coordinated platform. This is where repurposing matters.
From Redundancy to Resilience — and Beyond
For decades, resilience meant redundancy:Backup power.Backup fuel.Backup pathways.
Today, resilience is increasingly about optionality.
Infrastructure that can:
Support multiple functions
Adapt to new demands
Contribute value during normal operations, not just emergencies
On-site generation, hybrid systems, and adaptive reuse all fit into this model. They don’t replace traditional power strategies—they augment them. The result is infrastructure that doesn’t just sit idle until something breaks, but actively strengthens the system every day.
The Bigger Lesson
The Swiss satellite dish project isn’t really about solar panels.
It’s about mindset. When infrastructure is designed—or re-evaluated—with systems thinking, its lifespan extends. Its relevance increases. Its strategic value compounds.
At Data Power Supply, this way of thinking informs everything we do. Power, data, and communications aren’t separate disciplines—they’re interdependent layers of the same system. The future belongs to infrastructure that can evolve. And sometimes, the fastest path forward starts by finding new power in what’s already there.
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