Yet another renewable energy deal aimed at the power-hungry data centre market has been announced this week. It involves digital infrastructure company Equinix and renewable energy provider CleanMax, with which Equinix has signed its first power purchase agreement (PPA) in India.
Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will collaborate to build a 33 MW captive power plant in Maharashtra. This partnership, we are told, will provide renewable energy sufficient to match the consumption of Equinix’s growing portfolio of data centres in Mumbai and support the nation’s renewable energy target.
The Captive Power Project, which comprises 26.4 Megawatt peak (MWp) of solar capacity and 6.6 MW of wind capacity, is set to become operational in phases in 2025. Once fully operational, this project will provide renewable energy coverage for Equinix’s international business exchange (IBX) data centres in Mumbai.
PPAs are described as an effective way for data centres to procure renewable energy and contribute to the expansion of renewable energy sources within local markets. With the addition of this new PPA in India, Equinix says it has now executed a total of 23 PPAs globally.
Equinix’s energy efficiency programme focuses on reducing the energy consumption of its infrastructure. Globally, Equinix says it invested US$77.5 million in energy efficiency projects in 2023, reducing annual energy consumption by 66,862 MWh and improving power usage effectiveness (PUE) by 8.8% year over year.
CleanMax has a robust portfolio of over 2GW of operating renewable assets servicing over 400 clients across various industries.
Following the commencement of power supply to Equinix’s facility in Maharashtra, CleanMax says it intends to explore broader sustainability solutions for the digital infrastructure company’s upcoming AI-ready data centres across India and the globe.
