According to DCD, Indian utility NTPC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CtrlS Datacenters to provide 2GW of renewable energy through its subsidiary NTPC Green Energy (NGEL). The agreement supports NTPC’s broader goal to produce 60GW of green energy by 2032, with NGEL currently contributing around 6GW of the company’s total 84GW capacity. India’s total power generation capacity reached 475GW as of March 2025, with coal still accounting for approximately half. CtrlS, which operates data centers in Mumbai, Bangalore, Noida, and Hyderabad, plans to invest $2 billion over six years expanding across Asia and the Middle East, currently managing over 250MW of IT capacity. This partnership represents a significant step in addressing India’s rapidly growing data center energy demands.
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The Staggering Scale of Data Center Power Requirements
What makes this 2GW agreement particularly significant is understanding the energy density of modern data centers. A single hyperscale facility can consume between 100-300MW, equivalent to powering approximately 80,000 to 240,000 homes. The DC Byte report indicating India’s live capacity constitutes only 14% of total 8.9GW supply reveals the massive infrastructure buildout underway. When S&P Global projects data centers will consume 2.6% of India’s total electricity by 2030, up from 0.8% in 2024, we’re looking at an energy demand curve that could strain the national grid without strategic partnerships like this NTPC-CtrlS agreement.
Technical Challenges in Renewable Integration
The transition to renewable energy for data centers presents substantial technical hurdles that go beyond simple power purchase agreements. Data centers require 99.999% uptime, while solar and wind generation are inherently intermittent. This creates a complex balancing act where facilities must maintain seamless operations despite fluctuating power inputs. The solution typically involves sophisticated energy storage systems, advanced power management software, and potentially maintaining connections to conventional grid power as backup. NTPC’s experience with its 84GW generation portfolio will be crucial in developing the hybrid energy architectures needed to ensure reliability while maximizing renewable utilization.
Cooling Infrastructure and Energy Efficiency
Beyond direct computing power, data centers face enormous cooling demands, especially in India’s climate where ambient temperatures can exceed 40°C. Traditional cooling systems can consume 30-40% of a facility’s total energy budget. The move toward renewable energy may accelerate adoption of innovative cooling technologies like liquid immersion cooling, adiabatic systems, and geothermal exchange that offer better efficiency in high-temperature environments. CtrlS’s expansion into Southeast Asia and the Middle East suggests they’re developing cooling solutions adaptable to multiple tropical and desert climates, which could become valuable intellectual property as global temperatures rise.
Grid Modernization and Distributed Generation
The government data showing coal still dominates India’s energy mix highlights the broader infrastructure challenge. Integrating 2GW of renewable capacity for data centers alone will require substantial grid upgrades and potentially localized microgrid solutions. We’re likely to see data center operators like CtrlS investing in on-site generation, potentially including solar canopies, fuel cells, or advanced battery systems to create more resilient power architectures. The NGEL subsidiary’s role in NTPC’s 60GW green energy target suggests this partnership could serve as a blueprint for similar agreements across India’s expanding digital infrastructure landscape.
Global Competitive Implications
India’s aggressive push toward renewable-powered data centers positions the country advantageously in the global digital economy. As European and North American markets implement increasingly strict carbon regulations for digital infrastructure, India’s early adoption of green energy partnerships could attract international hyperscalers seeking sustainable operations. The timing aligns perfectly with major investments from companies like Google’s planned $15 billion in Andhra Pradesh and Microsoft’s Hyderabad cloud region. This creates a virtuous cycle where renewable energy availability attracts digital infrastructure investment, which in turn drives further renewable development.
