Airtel commissions 21 MW solar power unit in Maharashtra

Bharti Airtel has announced the commissioning of a new 21 MW solar power plant in District Bhuldana, Maharashtra as part of the company’s commitment to progressively reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to the global efforts to curb the effects of climate change.

The captive power unit, which is spread over 80 acres, has been set up by Airtel in partnership with Avaada to supply clean energy to Nxtra by Airtel’s large and edge data centers, and switching centers in the State of Maharashtra. The Company expects a significant reduction of 25,517 tonnes in carbon emissions annually through this unit.

Rajesh Tapadia, CEO, Nxtra by Airtel said, “Sustainability is a priority area for Nxtra by Airtel. This is yet another step towards fulfilling our commitment to source more than 50% power requirements of our data centres through renewable energy sources in next 12 months and contribute to Airtel’s overall GHG emission reduction targets.”

Nxtra by Airtel has already commissioned two captive solar power units of 14 MW each in the State of Uttar Pradesh as part of its focus on green energy sources to power its growing operations. The Company has the largest network of data centers in India with 11 large and 120 edge data centers across the country and will invest over Rs 5000 cr over the next four years to expand its capacity by 3X.

Airtel has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions across its operations by 50.2% by FY2031 (from FY2021 as base year). Airtel has also committed to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 42% over the same timeframe. It will achieve this through multiple interventions including accelerated green energy adoption across its network operations, energy efficient infrastructure and processes as well as implementing sustainable business practices at its workplaces.

Airtel is aligned to the Paris Climate Accord. It benchmarks against global standards and transparently publishes the progress it makes against the targets it has set itself. Airtel is the first Indian telecom company to join the UN Global Compact - the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world comprising comprehensive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives. The Company has also instituted a Committee of Board of Directors (“ESG Committee”) to sharpen its focus on ESG initiatives.