ReNew Power and RackBank partner for renewable data centre in India

ReNew Power, a leading provider of renewable energy, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with data centre operator RackBank.

With the completion of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), ReNew will supply RackBank’s hyperscale data centre with renewable energy. Together, the two companies will build the first hyperscale data centre in India powered by 100% renewable energy.

According to the MoU, ReNew Power will build a 500 MW capacity power plant specifically to supply power to the RackBank data centre. RackBank will then power their data centre entirely by the energy produced by the new ReNew plant, offsetting any non-renewable power consumption by purchasing green credits from ReNew.

This dual approach is intended to ensure that the RackBank data centre operates with net-zero emissions on an ongoing basis. ReNew Power operates more than 100 renewable energy plants across 8 states in India – building, owning and operating wind and solar energy projects for commercial and industrial clients.

RackBank’s hyperscale data centre will be built out at 35,000 square feet, with 800 racks and 500 MW of capacity, scaling in phases over the next five years. Narendra Sen, CEO of RackBank, said of the project, “We are proud to build India’s first green data centre and are excited to partner with ReNew Power for clean power procurement.” He also talked about the environmental benefits of the partnership, noting, “RackBank Hyperscale platform will enable 100% clean energy for our data centre and through this partnership, we should be able to reduce our power cost by 30% compared to power consumption directly from the grid.”

Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew power added, “The MoU between ReNew Green Solutions and RackBank reflects the commitment that responsible corporations are showing, to shift toward cleaner energy sources to power their businesses.”

ReNew Power also signed a PPA with the Solar Energy Company of India (SECI), to supply Round-the-Clock power over the course of the next 25 years. ReNew will supply SECI with renewable energy at ₹ 2.90/kWh (~US 3.9¢), increasing 3% year-over-year for the first 15 years of the contract. The price will then stabilize for the final 10 years of the contract.

ReNew was selected to supply SECI with renewable energy after winning a bid at auction last year. Mr Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power, said, “The government’s bold vision and ReNew’s technological ingenuity and execution prowess will ensure that this project will soon start feeding stable, clean and low-cost power into the grid. I am confident that this is the beginning of a new era in the renewable energy sector.”

The $1.2 billion USD project will encompass 900 MW of wind capacity, 400 MW of solar, supplemented by stored battery power.