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Adani Energy Solutions (AESL) is undertaking centralised cooling solutions projects, with a cumulative capacity of 52,000 TR (tons of refrigeration). These projects include setting up India’s largest such cooling facility at Mundra in Kutch district of Gujarat, the company said in its latest annual report.
AESL is additionally pursuing projects worth a quarter million (0.25 million) TR across geographies and sectors. While the capex details were not revealed, industry experts indicate that these projects may see investments of around ₹5,000-6,000 crore.
The upcoming Mundra facility will have a capacity of 45,000 TR, making it India’s largest. This facility will serve industries in the region. ALSO READ: Adani Group stocks slide on reports of US probe into Iranian LPG trade
“India’s per capita cooling consumption remains just 8-9 per cent, far behind global averages of over 90 per cent. We are addressing this with Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS), a pay-per-use model that eliminates high capital costs while ensuring affordable and accessible cooling infrastructure. With an aggregate demand potential of over 11 million TR by 2029-30 (FY30), CaaS is set to play a vital role in industrial efficiency, urban development, and sustainable growth,” said Anil Sardana, managing director, AESL.
In centralised cooling, also known as District Cooling Services (DCS), chilled water is produced in a central plant, from where cooling is distributed to multiple buildings through a network of pipes. One of its paramount benefits is energy efficiency as cooling demand is collated centrally and this centralised nature allows for economies of scale, resulting in reduced operational and maintenance costs.
Currently, this space is fragmented with a few players offering end-to-end solutions, and this is the gap AESL plans to tap. AESL offers its CaaS under the DBFOO — design, build, finance, own and operate — model, where the entire capex is borne by it, with the user paying as per use. AESL is also pitching this solution as a green and sustainable one, offering a 30 per cent reduction in cooling-related energy consumption.
India’s cooling market is significantly under-penetrated, with per capita cooling energy consumption at 147 kWh (kilowatt-hour) in 2023, against the global average of 1,539 kWh, and AC ownership at 8 per cent versus 60 per cent to 90 per cent in other developing countries. This is despite India having the highest Person Cooling Degree Days (CDD) at above 4,200 billion, driven by large population and consistently high ambient temperature in large swathes of the country.
According to industry experts, cooling demand in India is poised for exponential eightfold rise in this decade. This additional cooling demand is equivalent to additional 120 Gw (Gigawatt) of power generation and a corresponding increase in transmission & distribution (T&D) network.
Experts say DCS and other centralised cooling solutions can cut power use by 35 per cent, peak demand by 30 per cent, and infrastructure costs by 45 per cent.
AESL recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MAHAPREIT (Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology Limited), a government of Maharashtra undertaking engaged in renewable energy, infrastructure, and sustainability projects, to set up district cooling infrastructure and provide CaaS in Maharashtra and other states under MAHAPREIT's jurisdiction.
