Airtel commissions 21MW solar plant in Maharashtra
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Airtel commissions 21MW solar plant in Maharashtra

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Airtel’s data centres and switching centres in the Indian state of Maharashtra are to be powered by a new, 21MW solar plant.

Located in District Bhuldhana, the plant covers 80 acres and was established following a partnership between Airtel and Avaada, under which the latter would supply clean energy to large and edge data centers, as well as switching centers operated under the Nxtra by Airtel name, under the State of Maharashtra.

The Company said it expects a "significant reduction of 25,517 tonnes" of 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.”

Across the state Airtel's NXtra is planning two new hyperscale parks in Pune and Mumbai and has operational core facilities in the same locations, as well as edge facilities in Pune, Mumbai and Kolahpur. Counting the entire portfolio, the Carlyle-backed company has the largest network of data centres in India with 11 large and 120 edge centres across the country. Investments of Rs 5000 cr are planned over the next four years to expand capacity three-fold.

Back in October, NXtra received a $673 million investment to fund a nation-wide expansion drive.

Further north in the State of Uttar Pradesh, Nxtra by Airtel has already commissioned two captive solar power units of 14 MW each.

Using the 2021 financial year as its baseline, Airtel has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 Green House Gas (GHG) emissions across its operations by 50.2% by FY2031.

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