Airtel Commissions Captive Solar Plant for its Data Centres in Uttar Pradesh

Bharti Airtel has commissioned a 14 MWp captive solar plant to meet the energy requirements of its core and edge data centres in Uttar Pradesh

As part of its mission to rapidly grow its green energy footprint, Bharti Airtel, one of India’s premier digital communications solutions providers, has announced that it has commissioned a 14 MWp captive solar power plant to meet the energy requirements of its core and edge data centres in Uttar Pradesh.

The facility in Tilhar (Shahjahanpur, UP) is the first of the two solar plants being set up by Airtel in partnership with AMP Energy. The second plant at Begampur is expected to be commissioned in the next quarter. 

The firms expects the two projects will provide a major boost to Airtel’s initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint. It had acquired 26 percent equity stake in AMP Solar Evolution as part of its commitment to green energy-based solutions.

Data Centres, which play a key role in the digital ecosystem, have large power requirements. ‘Nxtra by Airtel’ currently operates 10 large and 120 edge data centres across India. During FY 2022, it aims to meet over 50 percent of its power input through renewable energy sources and contribute to Airtel’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.

Rajesh Tapadia, CEO – Nxtra Data “As a responsible corporate, green energy is a top agenda for Airtel. We take pride in being ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing sustainability initiatives. We will continue to accelerate our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint through multiple interventions.”

Airtel is aligned to the Paris Climate Accord. The company stated that it is proactively implementing clean fuel-based power solutions for its towers, data centres, switching centres and other facilities. In FY 20, the company has achieved an average Carbon Emission reduction (CO₂ /PB) of ~114 percent from the base year 2011-12 against Department of Telecom’s target of 30 percent.

Last week, we had reported that Airtel in furtherance to its acquisition of 5.2 percent equity shares in Avaada MHBuldhana Private Limited – a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the Avaada Group formed for the purpose of owning and operating the Captive Solar Power Plant in November 2020, had now acquired an additional 2,914,100 equity shares (approximately 3.33 percent) at Rs 10 per equity share in the SPV.