Equinix, CleanMax Ink 33 MW Captive Project Deal in Maharashtra

Equinix, Inc., a digital infrastructure company today signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with CleanMax, a renewable energy provider in the Commercial and Industrial (C&I) sector and a Brookfield-backed company. Under the agreement, the parties plan to collaborate to build a 33 MW Captive Power Plant in Maharashtra. This partnership intends to provide renewable energy to match the consumption of Equinix’s growing portfolio of data centers in Mumbai.

CleanMax has previously worked with big companies like Google to develop a 125.4 MW hybrid project and Apple to install  14.4 MW of rooftop solar projects. CleanMax in its latest captive power projects, plans to install 26.4 MWp of solar capacity and 6.6 MW of wind capacity. These projects are set to become operational in phases in 2025. Once fully operational, this project will provide renewable energy coverage for Equinix’s International Business Exchange TM (IBX®) data centers in Mumbai. By investing in both solar and wind energy, Equinix aims to maximize renewable energy usage to address the rising demand for digital infrastructure driven by increasing AI adoption in Mumbai.

Manoj Paul, Managing Director, India, Equinix, said, “This PPA not only strengthens our commitment to sustainability but also enables us to provide our customers in India with 100% renewable energy coverage for their deployments at Equinix.”

Raouf Abdel, Executive Vice President, of Global Operations, Equinix, said, “Digital infrastructure has become the critical foundation of the economy. As the demand for data centers continues to grow, ensuring a sustainable and reliable energy source becomes a significant challenge. This investment aligns with our long-term commitment to sustainability and reinforces our position as a leader in the industry. We are excited to contribute to the growth of the Indian market while driving positive change and fostering a more sustainable future for data centers.”

PPAs are an effective way for data centers to procure renewable energy and contribute to the expansion of renewable energy sources within local markets. Equinix is increasingly focused on expanding the breadth and quality of its renewables portfolio. Earlier in 2024, the company signed PPAs in Australia and Singapore. With the addition of this new PPA in India, Equinix has now executed a total of 23 PPAs globally. These agreements are expected to contribute over 3,100,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy annually to local grids across the US, Australia, France, Finland, India, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Singapore once operational.

In addition, Equinix’s Energy Efficiency program focuses on reducing the energy consumption of its infrastructure which can be monitored through a reduction in Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).  Globally, Equinix invested $77.5 million in energy efficiency projects in 2023, reducing annual energy consumption by 66,862 MWh and improving PUE by 8.8% year over year.

2 GW Portfolio

Over the years, CleanMax has developed over 2GW portfolio of operational renewable assets servicing over 400 clients across various industries. Through partnerships and innovative solutions. Kuldeep Jain, Managing Director of CleanMax, commented, “CleanMax is delighted to be chosen by Equinix to decarbonize its data centers in Mumbai. CleanMax has always focused on being the net-zero partner of choice to corporates globally. The landmark initiative will illustrate how corporates can support their growth ambitions while simultaneously nurturing sustainable operations.”

Following a detailed evaluation process by the Equinix global management team, CleanMax was chosen by Equinix as a partner for its decarbonization efforts. Following the commencement of power supply to Equinix’s facility in Maharashtra, CleanMax intends to explore broader sustainability solutions for the digital infrastructure company’s upcoming AI-ready data centers across India and the globe.