Indian telecom infrastructure firm Indus Towers has installed solar arrays across 50,000 of its telecom sites in India.

The company said that the solar systems added approximately 300MW of on-site capacity across its tower portfolio in the country. Following the successful installation, the company said it intends to extend the installations to 100,000 sites by 2029, to lower energy costs and reduce reliance on diesel generation. The company claimed that the solar systems will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 420,000 tons annually.

Indus has approximately 270,480 tower sites across India, with solar systems now deployed on around 18.5 percent of them.

Speaking to the Business Standard, Prachur Sah, CEO and MD of Indus, said: “We have 50,000 solar-powered sites generating energy, with a total installed capacity of 300MW. Based on our research, it's the largest, and we’re the first company to reach this kind of benchmark globally.

“We started ramping up about two and a half years ago. Our ambition is to get 100,000 (solar-powered towers) by FY29. This not only reduces cost, but actually cuts emissions.”

These deployments are part of the company's broader effort to decarbonize its operations. In May of last year, the firm acquired a 26 percent stake in JSW Green Energy Eight Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) focused on solar power generation.

Indus acquired the stake for approximately ₹38.04 crore ($4.45 million). The SPV has signed PPAs with data center firms in the past, inking a 180MW Power Purchase Agreement with Amazon in India last February.