Sify Technologies, a leading ICT service & solution provider, on Wednesday announced that it has entered into power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Vibrant Energy Holdings for 231 megawatt (MW) of solar and wind energy capacity to power Sify’s latest hyperscale data centres.
Hyderabad-based Vibrant Energy is a majority-owned subsidiary of Blueleaf Energy, a portfolio company owned by Sydney-based Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, operating on a standalone basis.
The 231 MW renewable energy capacity will be built at a total cost of ₹1,250 crore, funded through a combination of debt and equity in 2: 1 ratio. Under a captive power purchase model, Sify Technologies will take 26 per cent equity stake in the project while Vibrant Energy will be responsible for the design, construction and operations of the facility.
Currently, Sify Technologies has 11 data centres consuming more than 80MW of power in six cities — Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Noida, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The 231 MW capacity is to power one of its three data centers in Mumbai, of which 67MW solar PPA, signed in March 2021, was recently commissioned.
“There is an intensifying narrative about adopting green energy. With the constantly expanding need for world-class data center facilities to meet the burgeoning data-centric transformation of Indian businesses, we believe that investing in clean energy sources to fuel this transformation is a social imperative,” said Raju Vegesna, Chairman, Sify, addressing a virtual press conference.
Green field project
MP Vijay Kumar, CFO, Sify, said the company is on track to add 200 MW of IT capacity of data centres in the next four years. “We are looking at setting up a green field project in Hyderabad, which is a large capacity. We have completed the land acquisition. We are evaluating the renewable energy plans for the upcoming facility and looking at cost-benefit analysis as well as the regulatory environment,” he added.
When asked if all the existing data centres will be converted to renewable energy sources, Vijay Kumar said it will depend on regulatory mechanisms of States and benefits that will accrue through such transition.
“Different regulations are prevalent in each State. Depending on the regulatory mechanism and benefits which we can derive from the project, we can take them to renewable energy. At our new data centers in Mumbai, Noida and Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, we can look at bringing renewable energy onboard simultaneously from day one,” Vijay Kumar said.
Srini Viswanathan, CEO, Vibrant Energy, said, with intense global push towards renewable energy, large amounts of investments are going to flow into the green data centre market.
“According to estimates, there is going to be an additional $76 billion of investment flowing into green data centre market in the next five years,” Viswanathan, said, adding, “Of the $33 billion Asia Pacific data centre market, India is going to be one of the fastest growth market in the segment.”
Published on
February 23, 2022
