Some of the fastest growing data center markets are located in the hottest places on earth, posing challenges to sustainability. In South Asia and the Middle East, countries have developed policies surrounding renewable energy adoption, and solar power is attracting attention and investments like never before.
Perhaps the best-known example of a solar-powered data center is UAE’s Moro Hub, an entity established in 2018 to serve as the digital backbone to Digital DEWA, which in turn is the digital arm of the Dubai Electric and Water Authority (DEWA), a major utilities provider in the United Arab Emirates. Moro Hub data centers are located in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is one of the largest solar parks in the world! When completed, it aims to save over 6.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually.
The Sustainability and Innovation Center of DEWA explains the genesis of the idea on its website saying, “The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 aim to provide 100 percent of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. To achieve this, DEWA is developing the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in phases, to eventually generate 5,000 MW from photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies.”
Phase 1 of the park comprising 152,000 photovoltaic cells connected to 13 step-up transformers in inverter building, became operational in 2013. The 200MW phase 2 was inaugurated in 2017, while the 800MW third phase of the solar park using photovoltaic solar panels became fully operational in 2020. Subsequent phases are in various stages of development.
Next door in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), there is growing commitment towards adoption of renewable energy especially given the large number of giga projects that are in various stages of development. The government is playing its part in encouraging adoption of green energy via Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative.
Saudi Vision 2030 is an ambitious plan for economic diversification, attracting foreign investment, developing high tech modern infrastructure in exclusive business and leisure zones, as well as building futuristic cities such as NEOM. After the program was first announced in 2016, it was followed up with the Saudi Green Initiative that was inaugurated in 2021. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is now increasingly investing in green energy and sustainable development projects. Riyadh plans to become Net Zero by 2060. Solar energy plays an important role in Saudi Arabia’s plans to go green.
As per research by Mordor Intelligence, Saudi Arabia receives an average of 8.9 hours of sunshine per day and demonstrates solar irradiation levels of 250 W/m2, significantly exceeding the global average of 100-200 W/m2 for high-potential solar power areas. Meanwhile research by the IMARC Group found that Saudi Arabia’s solar energy market size reached USD 6.0 Billion in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach USD 125.2 billion by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 39.36 percent during 2025-2033.
Today solar plants and fields are being developed across the country. Some of the most prominent ones being: Sakaka Solar Plant, Haradh Solar PV Park, and Al Subaiah Solar Park that is under development in Mecca province and aims to deliver 2060 MW of power when it gets completed later this year.
In India too, there has been a strong push from the government to enable greater adoption of solar power. It rolled out the scheme for Development of Solar Parks and Ultra-Mega Solar Power Projects way back in December, 2014. Under the scheme, it was proposed to set up at least 25 Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects targeting 20,000 MW of solar power installed capacity within a span of 5 years starting from around 2014. The capacity of the Scheme was enhanced from 20,000 MW to 40,000 MW in March of 2017. These parks are proposed to be set up by either this year or 2026.
“India is very progressive when it comes to green energy,” says Vivek Dahiya (VP, site selection & acquisition, APAC, Vantage Data Centers). “In the mid to long term, India is very well positioned. The policies here to do your own projects with green energy service providers allow data centers to really walk the talk on sustainability.”
Apart from the availability of abundant sunshine, India is keen on solar energy for another reason. It is one of its best bets to power data centers in the age of AI. However, Dahiya cautions, “But it is still challenging, because it is a moving target. The advent of AI has increased the pressure for everyone across the world.”
One data center company that is adopting solar energy in a major way is CtrlS Datacenters. In May 2024, it transitioned its Noida Datacenter – DC1 – to solar power, aiming to enable the facility to meet 60 percent of its annual energy requirements through renewable sources.
More recently, in February 2025, the company unveiled its captive solar farm – ‘GreenVolt 1’ in India. Located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, the 100 MW solar farm will power CtrlS’ Mumbai Datacenter Campus with clean energy. Phase I of the solar farm with a capacity of 50 MW, went live in June 2024, and powers Mumbai campus. Phase II with an additional capacity of 50 MW is under implementation. Meanwhile, ‘GreenVolt 2’ which will bring another 75 MW power, is under construction.
“CtrlS has increased its capacity from 125 MW to 250 MW within just two years and also bought land and power for 2 GW, simultaneously. We even built solar power plants to supply green power to our data centers during this period,” says Sridhar Pinnapureddy, the founder and CEO of CtrlS Datacenters.
And then there are large conglomerates like the Adani Group, which not only has a dedicated renewables business but also dabbles in digital infrastructure. Speaking during a panel discussion at Chennai CDC 2025, the Chief Business Officer of AdaniConneX, Sanjay Bhutani said, “Adani Group has committed to 45 GW by 2030, and already has 25 GW of infrastructure available.”
However, industry leaders point to the need to develop a delivery infrastructure that will take the power from the green energy plants to the data center. Initial capital investment is also a factor that might make small and medium sized players anxious.
* This article first appeared in Issue 9 of w.media’s Cloud & Datacenters magazine. It may be read online on pages 20-21 here.