Airtel expands green energy footprint with commissioning of 21 MW solar power unit in Maharashtra

Bharti Airtel today announced the commissioning of a new 21 MW solar power plant in District Buldana, Maharashtra as part of the company’s commitment to progressively reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to the global efforts to curb the effects of climate change, it said in a press statement.

The captive power unit, which is spread over 80 acres, has been set up by Airtel in partnership with Avaada to supply clean energy to Nxtra by Airtel’s large and edge data centers, and switching centers in Maharashtra.

The Company expects a significant reduction of 25,517 tonnes in carbon emissions annually through this unit, it said.

Rajesh Tapadia, CEO, Nxtra by Airtel said, “This is yet another step towards fulfilling our commitment to source more than 50 percent power requirements of our data centres through renewable energy sources in next 12 months and contribute to Airtel’s overall GHG emission reduction targets.”

Nxtra by Airtel has already commissioned two captive solar power units of 14 MW each in Uttar Pradesh as part of its focus on green energy sources to power its growing operations.

Airtel has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 Green House Gas (GHG) emissions across its operations by 50.2 percent by FY2031 (from FY2021 as base year). It has also committed to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 42 percent over the same timeframe. It will achieve this through multiple interventions including accelerated green energy adoption across its network operations, energy efficient infrastructure and processes as well as implementing sustainable business practices at its workplaces, it said.

Published on: Tuesday, January 25, 2022, 11:25 AM IST