The roll-out of 5G networks, rising internet of things (IoT) penetration, and the rapid digitalisation of services across sectors are generating data volumes that would have seemed implausible a decade ago. Smart homes, connected factories and autonomous vehicles are driving this growth in real time, with the data they produce flowing into cloud-native platforms and data centres operating at an unprecedented scale.
Behind this growth lies a mounting environmental challenge that the sector can no longer defer. Data centres and cloud infrastructure are energy-intensive by nature, requiring high capital investment, long gestation periods and sustained power supply. Globally, data centres already consume around 4 per cent of all electricity generated, a figure that could climb to 14 per cent by 2040 if current trajectories hold. In India, the pressure is compounded by the country’s tropical climate, which drives up cooling demands, and by the pace of capacity addition, with data centre installations expected to cross 600 MW in new deployments in 2026 alone. As artificial intelligence (AI) workloads scale and 5G densification deepens, the energy appetite of India’s digital infrastructure will only grow. The question is no longer whether to act, but how quickly and how comprehensively to act.
The tools already in hand
The good news is that the tools needed to build a greener cloud are well within reach. Server virtualisation and containerisation allow dozens of services to share compute, memory and power on unified hardware, replacing the inefficiency of dedicated single-function servers. Cloud models such as infrastructure-as-a-service take this further by enabling operators to scale resources elastically, scaling up capacity during peak demand and consolidating workloads during idle periods so that power-intensive hardware runs only when genuinely needed. AI adds another layer of precision, processing historical traffic and grid load patterns to predict which compute nodes to activate or shut down, creating an intelligent orchestration layer that continuously optimises energy use across the network.
Beyond the data centre core, the opportunity extends to the network edge. Integrating solar PV systems and battery storage at base stations and radio access network nodes enables on-site renewable power, while localised edge processing cuts the energy-intensive backhaul of data to centralised facilities. Software-defined networking and network functions virtualisation make this cleaner network programmable and energy aware, rerouting traffic dynamically and deactivating underutilised hardware. Meanwhile, advanced cooling technologies such as immersion and direct-to-chip cooling address one of the largest non-computational energy costs in any data centre, sharply improving the power usage effectiveness (PUE). Together, these enablers form the technical backbone of a cloud infrastructure designed to scale without increasing its carbon footprint.
For India’s telcos and towercos, these enablers are already operational realities rather than future possibilities. Deploying them at scale is how operators can reconcile the country’s accelerating demand for cloud capacity with the sustainability commitments that investors, regulators and customers are increasingly making non-negotiable.
The case for going green
The business case for green cloud is as compelling as the environmental one. Renewable-powered operations and AI-driven workload management deliver measurable reductions in carbon output, while containerisation and intelligent orchestration eliminate the hardware under utilisation that quietly inflates operating costs. Efficient cooling systems and energy-aware scheduling compound these savings further, with green-certified facilities reporting operating cost reductions of 25-30 per cent against conventional infrastructure.
Beyond the balance sheet, alignment with emerging green standards strengthens regulatory positioning and business continuity as compliance requirements tighten. For operators navigating a capital-intensive expansion cycle, sustainability credentials are also proving their worth in capital markets, attracting environmental social-and governance-aligned investors and enabling access to green financing on more favourable terms. Taken together, the shift to green cloud infrastructure is not a trade-off between growth and responsibility. It is the architecture through which both are achieved simultaneously.
Current deployments
On-the-ground deployments are giving shape to what green cloud infrastructure looks like in practice. In February 2026, Digital Edge announced an 83 MW solar power purchase agreement (PPA) for the first phase of its 350 MW AI-ready hyperscale campus in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, through a competitive tender process. The renewable supply, to be delivered in phases from December 2026, is expected to offset approximately 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, a figure that will scale as the full renewable energy programme is deployed across the campus. Alongside the PPA, the facility has partnered with its customers and the local municipality to deploy liquid cooling powered by 10 million litres of recycled water per day, the first deployment of this kind in India. The initiative targets an annualised PUE of 1.25 and a water utilisation effectiveness (WUE) below 1.75, setting new benchmarks for both energy and water efficiency in the Indian market. The campus, developed as a joint venture with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and AGP Sustainable Assets, is designed to demonstrate that large-scale AI infrastructure and environmental responsibility are not competing objectives.
The push towards sustainable AI data centres is also leading to technology partnerships that combine international expertise with India-based deployment. In a development formalised at the India AI Impact Summit in early 2026, Anant Raj Cloud, operating large campuses at Manesar and Panchkula, partnered with European immersion cooling specialist Submer to co-develop high-density, energy-efficient AI data centre facilities across India. The collaboration brings Submer’s modular infrastructure and liquid cooling platform to Anant Raj’s existing campus footprint, enabling significantly higher compute density within the same physical space while cutting overall power consumption.
These deployments reflect a shift in how green cloud is being executed in India: not as a compliance exercise, but as an architectural choice embedded from the earliest stages of design, where sustainability targets such as PUE, WUE and carbon offset commitments are treated as core engineering parameters alongside capacity and connectivity.
Where the gaps remain
Despite the momentum, the transition to green cloud is not without friction. Green technologies often require significant upfront capital, which can be difficult to justify in a sector already under pressure from spectrum obligations, debt servicing and competitive pricing. Recovering green infrastructure investments through energy savings typically takes several years, and in a price-sensitive market such as India, the competition for capital is fierce.
The energy dynamics of 5G add a further complication. While 5G networks are estimated to be around 90 per cent more efficient per data bit than 4G, the sheer increase in network density and traffic volumes is expected to offset those gains, with overall 5G energy consumption projected to be four to five times higher than 4G across dense deployment areas. The proliferation of small cells and microcells per square km creates a cumulative power demand that efficiency gains alone cannot neutralise.
Access to clean energy remains uneven. Many remote tower sites lack reliable grid connectivity, forcing operators to depend on diesel generators that undercut both environmental targets and operating economics. Regulatory complexity adds to the challenge. Securing right of way for renewable infrastructure development can be slow and inconsistent, and coordination between the telecom, power and environment ministries remains fragmented. The absence of a mandatory national green data centre certification framework means progress continues to rely largely on voluntary adoption and state-level incentives rather than a unified national standard.
The path forward
The conditions for green cloud to become mainstream in India are falling into place, but converting enabling conditions into consistent outcomes will require deliberate action across industry and policy. On the regulatory side, the most important near-term steps include a dedicated Bureau of Energy Efficiency star rating system for data centres, mandatory renewable energy thresholds within the national data centre policy framework, and stronger inter ministerial coordination to streamline green infrastructure approvals. A single-window clearance mechanism that integrates telecom, power and environment requirements would substantially reduce the cost of and delay in green deployments.
For operators, the priority is accelerating the transition from diesel backup to battery hybrid and renewable-integrated power systems, beginning with urban and peri-urban sites where grid reliability is highest. Long-term PPAs and open access renewable energy contracts, increasingly available at tariffs competitive with grid supply, offer a credible route to locking in both cost savings and carbon reductions at scale. Addressing Scope 3 emissions, which account for the majority of total sector emissions, will require industry-wide collaboration on procurement standards and supplier engagement, an area where India’s telecom sector is only beginning to organise.
India has demonstrated, by crossing its non-fossil capacity target five years ahead of schedule, that large-scale energy transitions are achievable when policy, investment and industry intent align. The green cloud opportunity calls for the same convergence. Operators and towercos that treat sustainability as a core infrastructure principle rather than a reporting exercise will be best positioned to build the most cost-resilient, capital-attractive and environmentally credible digital businesses in the country’s next decade of growth.
