Indian digital infrastructure company CtrlS Datacenters has announced plans to operationalize a 50MW solar installation within 12 to 15 months to support its broader goal of transitioning all its sites to solar energy generation.

Vipin Jain, president of data center operations at CtrlS, said: “We have 50MW of solar plant up and running, and in another 12 to 15 months, we are trying to get another 50MW solar power plant operational. This is how we plan to go 100 percent solar.

CtrlS chennai india
Other CtrlS Datacenters site – CtrlS Datacenters

“CtrlS has taken a very different approach. We are the only data center company in India which has invested in its own solar power plant."

This move breaks from tradition in the Indian market, where most of its digital infrastructure is still powered by coal-fired power plants - though companies are increasingly investing in renewable energy through power purchase agreements.

Update: CtrlS informed DCD that it is on track with its investment plan of $2 billion up to 2029, which was announced in October last year. The company has identified three critical focus areas as it looks to scale its operations and reaffirm its commitment to the region.

CtrlS will invest in several key technologies and strategies in areas such as advanced cooling, power management, and overall infrastructure design in its new hyperscale datacenters.

The investment plan involves adding approximately 350 MW capacity across new and existing hyperscale and edge data centers in India and select Southeast Asian markets.

The funds will be split across three areas. Land acquisition will make up 10 to 15 percent of the allocation, data center infrastructure 60 percent, and renewable energy generation making up the remaining 15 to 20 percent.

To achieve this growth, CtrlS Datacenters plans to expand its workforce significantly, hiring upwards of 300 new employees in 2024, bringing its total headcount to around 1,300.

2024 has been a year of significant growth for CtrlS Datacenters. In August, it acquired a parcel of land in Patna, India, for an Edge data center development. The company intends to invest around Rs 400 crore ($477.2m) in the facility, which will have 10MW of IT capacity and house approximately 1,000 racks at full build-out.

Before this, in June, it announced plans to develop a data center campus in Kolkata.

CtrlS will invest Rs 2,200 crore ($264m) to build the data center campus, which will be implemented over four phases and offer more than 60MW of IT capacity.