Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel has commissioned a new 21-megawatt solar power plant in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra as part of its commitment to reduce carbon footprint and contribute to the global efforts to curb the effects of climate change.
The multinational telecommunications services company has tied up with Avaada to set up the captive power unit, which is spread over 80 acres, to supply clean energy to Nxtra by Airtel’s large and edge data centres, and switching centers in Maharashtra.
The company expects a significant reduction of 25,517 tons in carbon emissions annually through this unit.
Rajesh Tapadia, CEO, Nxtra by Airtel said, “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.”
According to a company release, 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 reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 Green House Gas (GHG) emissions across its operations by 50.2% by FY2031 (from FY2021 as the base year). Airtel has also committed to reducing 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.
