India's data centres may become 2nd-biggest power buyer in Apac region

The massive growth of data centres can be reflected in the fact that global as well as local players have announced investments of US $ 32 billion in the last two years in this space

India is projected to become the second largest market for electricity demand for data centres by 2030 in the Apac region, surpassing Japan and Australia, according to estimates by S&P Global released on Wednesday.

 

According to the S&P figures, the data centres’ share of electricity will triple from 0.84 per cent in 2024 to 2.6 per cent of the total electricity generated in the country by 2030. This is because in the same period, India’s data centre power requirement will grow five times from 13 terra watt hour (TWh) in 2024 to hit 57 TWh in 2030, an annual average growth of 28 per cent.

 

Under the AI mission of the government, 34,317 graphics processing units (GPUs) were awarded to data centre companies, half of which have already been installed. Once fully operational, these GPUs are estimated to provide about 2 TWh of additional electricity, accounting for a substantial 10 per cent of the estimated power demand by all data centres in the country in 2025, the data stated.

 

However, S&P points out that there will be sufficient renewable capacity, where most data centres are focusing on, to meet the additional demand. It argues that India will require an additional 15-30 Gw of power for data centres, which accounts for around 10 per cent of the total renewable planned additions projected during the period. 

 

This, they say, can be easily managed as India has significant untapped renewable potential and favourable economics for solar and wind. Battery storage is already competitive in hybrid models with renewables being compared to conventional sources.

 

Most data centre companies have already announced a clear plan for 100 per cent renewable targets, which include Amazon Web Service by 2030, Sify Technologies by 2027, Nxt Gen Data centre by 2025, ST Telemedia by 2026 among others.

 

The massive growth of data centres can be reflected in the fact that global as well as local players have announced investments of $32 billion in the last two years in this space. Currently, as much as half the data centres in the country are companies which are headquartered in India, followed by Japan (19 per cent), Singapore (over 17 per cent) and the US (9.9 per cent).

 

The proliferation of data centres has also been pushed by state governments, which offer subsidies and guaranteed uninterrupted power like in Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka and the upcoming Uttar Pradesh, which account for 70 per cent of the data centre capacity in the country.