In an age when data center operators are setting ambitious goals surrounding clean energy and sustainability, CtrlS Datacenters is walking the talk. A prominent player in the Indian data center market, CtrlS has unveiled its captive solar farm – ‘GreenVolt 1’ in India. Located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, the 125 MW solar farm aims to ultimately power 60 percent of CtrlS’ Mumbai Datacenter Campus with clean energy.
According to a press release, Phase I of the solar farm with a capacity of 62.5 MW already went live in June 2024, and powers 30 percent of the Mumbai campus. Phase II with an additional capacity of 62.5 MW is under implementation. CtrlS says that it spent over a year in research and development to optimise the project and comply with all the regulations.
“GreenVolt 1 will power CtrlS Datacenters both existing and upcoming, which we believe will set a new benchmark in the Indian data center industry. We are committed to scaling our DC capacity to over 1GW and our GreenVolt solar farm is a major step towards doing that sustainably,” said Sridhar Pinnapureddy, Founder & CEO, CtrlS Datacenters adding, “We are now closer than ever before to the big picture- Making CtrlS completely carbon neutral by 2040.”
CtrlS GreenVolt 1 is spread over 340 acres of land, is located along the Mumbai-Kolkata highway, in a bid to ensure seamless connectivity. The company further reveals that this is a rare tabletop land, ensuring optimal utilization of land area, evenly laid-out solar panels, and cost-savings. CtrlS GreenVolt 1 is attempting to distinguish itself from other solar farms in India by using advanced N-type panels instead of the usual P-type panels, aiming to be more efficient, and delivering more energy with reduced land requirements. In phase 1, the company has installed 1,07,912 solar panels.
This is part of the US$ 2 billion investment plan announced by CtrlS earlier. CtrlS aims to build over 1GW of solar capacity by 2030, to power 100 percent of the company’s data center footprint across India by that time. These include ongoing investments in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.
At present, CtrlS Datacenters has a nationwide presence with 250 MW (IT Load) of combined data center capacity across key tier-1 markets, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida, and Kolkata. CtrlS Datacenters also operates Edge data center facilities in tier-2 markets such as Patna and Lucknow, with further expansions planned in these markets along with GIFT City (Ahmedabad), Bhubaneswar and Guwahati.