Indian data center developer CtrlS Datacenters has completed the construction of a 125MW captive solar farm in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
The GreenVolt 1 solar farm was completed in two phases. The first 65.2MW segment went live in June 2024, and the second 62.5MW phase was just completed.
CtrlS has said that the project will cover 60 percent of the energy requirements at its Mumbai data center campus. The campus currently houses five data center buildings with a combined capacity of 116MW. When completed, it is expected to house 13 data center buildings across 3 million sq ft (278,709 sqm), with a combined capacity of 700MW.
“GreenVolt 1 will power CtrlS data centers, both existing and upcoming, which we believe will set a new benchmark in the Indian data center industry,” said CtrlS CEO Sridhar Pinnapureddy.
According to CtrlS, the solar project has been strategically sited to ensure seamless connectivity with its data center operations. It is located on tabletop land on the Mumbai-Kolkata highway, which the company says ensures optimal land utilization, evenly laid-out solar panels, and cost savings.
In addition, unlike the majority of Indian solar farms, GreenVolt 1 uses N-type solar panels, which promise higher efficiency, reduced degradation, and stability.
CtrlS has committed to building more than 1GW of solar capacity by 2030 to ensure that 100 percent of its data center operations are powered by renewable energy.
“GreenVolt1 is a giant leap with an intent to make bigger strides and expand GreenVolt projects across India. This is part of our journey towards sustainability, guided by the idea of responsible growth. We are now closer than ever before to the big picture - Making CtrlS completely carbon neutral by 2040,” Sridhar Pinnapureddy added.
The solar farm is part of a broader $2 billion investment strategy launched by the company in 2023 to support its expansion across Asia and the Middle East. At the end of last year, CtrlS announced plans to operationalize a 50MW solar installation within 12 to 15 months as part of its plan to transition all sites to solar energy generation.
Last month, the company announced plans to develop a 40-acre data center in Chandanvelly Industrial Park near Hyderabad, with a potential capacity of more than 600MW. This would be CtrlS’s fourth data center in Hyderabad, where it already has 24.4MW of installed capacity.
To date, the company has more than 250MW of installed IT capacity across its data center portfolio. It is also developing a data center campus in Chennai, which is expected to cost $482.5 million.
