Bharti Airtel to purchase 23,000 MWh of renewable energy for Nxtra data centres

Bharti Airtel has announced that it will purchase 23,000 MWh of renewable energy by the fourth quarter of FY24 for its data centre company, Nxtra. It is acquiring stakes in the renewable energy project companies established by Continuum Green India and Vibrant Energy Holdings, to power six of Nxtra’s edge data centre facilities. The purchase will be made through an open access route.  

Continuum Green will supply green power from solar and wind power projects to Airtel’s edge data centres in Madhya Pradesh.  

Airtel has also entered into a similar stake purchase agreement with the project company Vibrant Energy to supply solar power to its edge data centre in Vijayawada. With the addition of these new capacities, the total contracted renewable energy capacity for Nxtra data centres will have exceeded 2,74,000 MWh and it will be well on its way to establishing itself as the leader in building green data centres, it said. 

“As a leader in India’s data centre industry, Nxtra is committed to become a net zero company by 2031. We believe that India’s growth will be mirrored by its data centre industry growth in the coming years and are committed to reduce our carbon footprint and lead the green data centre infrastructure revolution in the country,” said Ashish Arora, Chief Executive Officer - Nxtra by Airtel. 

Nxtra is committed to reducing absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its operations by 100 per cent, reaching net zero by FY31 (with FY21 as the base year). It will achieve this through multiple interventions including accelerated green energy adoption across its operations, energy efficient infrastructure and processes as well as by implementing sustainable business practices at its workplace, it said.