India’s telecommunications sector is at an inflection point, being shaped as much by survival as by sustainability. With over 1.2 billion mobile users, a rapidly expanding 5G footprint and data traffic expected to exceed 20 exabytes per month, the energy demands of keeping India connected are staggering. Telecom towers alone account for a massive share of the sector’s opex. Energy costs represent as much as 25 per cent of the total opex for many operators, and the lion’s share of that energy still comes from diesel generators, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas where grid reliability remains a chronic challenge. Changing this reality is not merely a climate imperative. It is a business one.
Meeting the global benchmark
Globally, GSMA has set a collective ambition for the telecom sector to reach net zero by 2050, and as of today, 70 operators, representing almost half of global mobile connections, have aligned their voluntary targets to a 1.5°C pathway under the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Europe-based telcos such as Deutsche Telekom, which achieved group-wide greenhouse gas neutrality for its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by end-2025, having sourced 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources since 2021, and the BT Group, which already powers its global operations with 100 per cent renewable electricity and has reduced operational emissions by 55 per cent since 2016, targeting complete net zero by 2040, set the pace. For India’s operators, these benchmarks frame the ambition that investors, enterprise customers and regulators are beginning to expect.
Indian telcos head towards decarbonisation
India’s three private telcos have each staked out positions on decarbonisation, and the contrast between them is both instructive and narrowing.
Among operators, Reliance Jio has set the most aggressive target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2035. It has committed to decarbonising along the 1.5°C pathway, validated by SBTi, with Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for FY2024-25 at 0.06 million metric tonnes of CO2e (mmtCO2e) and 1.05 mmtCO2e respectively. By FY2028-29, the company aims to lower its absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 76 per cent and Scope 3 emissions by 66.5 per cent, using FY2020-21 as the baseline, and has committed to increasing the annual sourcing of renewable electricity from 1.2 per cent in FY2020-21 to 100 per cent by FY2029-30. On the ground, Reliance Jio has installed over 174 MWp of solar power across more than 20,000 sites in India and is now exploring wind power and methanol fuel cells to further decrease its carbon footprint. Additionally, Jio has set up a centralised solar plant of 35 MWp capacity at Bidar, Karnataka, which delivers annual carbon emissions savings of approximately 39,184 tCO2e. Jio also uses time division duplex optimisation to power down radios during non-traffic hours, typically between 2 am and 5 am, reducing idle energy consumption across its network.
Bharti Airtel has committed to reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50.2 per cent and Scope 3 GHG emissions by 42 per cent by FY2031, using FY2021 as the base year, with a net-zero target aligned to 2050. Airtel ended FY2026 with around 42,000 network sites with solar access, up from 28,000 solarised sites as of the third quarter of FY2025. In January 2025, Airtel acquired a 26 per cent stake in a 50 MW wind-solar hybrid project in Barmer, Rajasthan, developed by AMPIN Energy, supplying captive green power via interstate transmission networks to Airtel sites across India. The company has also commissioned a new 21 MW solar power plant in Bhuldana, Maharashtra. Airtel has been actively coordinating with state electricity regulatory commissions to adopt green energy open access (GEOA) policies, with 12 states and union territories having adopted the new regulations as of March 2024.
Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) has been the laggard in this field, most notably in the absence of a formal net-zero target date. But 2025 has seen meaningful movement. In June 2025, Vi and the Digital Infrastructure Providers Association announced a strategic partnership focused on deploying green energy solutions, supporting the GEOA policy and driving clean energy adoption throughout telecom infrastructure. In August 2025, Vi signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) and a share purchase agreement to acquire at least 26 per cent of equity in Aditya Birla Renewables SPV 3 Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) developing a captive solar and wind power plant in Maharashtra. Most recently, Vi has signed agreements to acquire a 26 per cent stake in MTK Quantum Green Energy Private Limited, as part of efforts to secure cost-effective green power for its operations. These moves signal that Vi is working towards methodically building a renewable procurement base.
Towercos step up green power procurement
Tower companies have also been stepping up their green power procurements. Indus Towers integrated solar systems at 15,535 sites and operates 276 locations powered by solar and wind microgrids. Its installed solar capacity stands at 76 MW, with a target of 25,000 solar-powered sites. The company is actively expanding its renewable energy portfolio under GEOA, targeting a capacity of up to 3.5 GW, with a long-term goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. It has secured 130 MW of captive solar energy from JSW Green Energy, and in early 2025, added a further 50 MW renewable energy agreement with Amplus, targeting sites in Karnataka under the state’s GEOA framework. In 2024, NTPC Green Energy Limited signed an initial pact with Indus Towers to explore the joint development of grid-connected renewable energy-based power projects, including solar, wind, energy storage and related solutions.
On the research frontier, IIT Bombay has signed an agreement with Indus Towers for research into perovskite solar cell technology that could overcome the limitations of conventional silicon PV cells, and into scalable methods to convert rice straw into hard carbon materials for energy storage.
One of Indus’s most impactful operational programmes targets a hidden energy drain. The company found that a large part of the energy in tower shelters was being consumed by air conditioners rather than active telecom equipment, and launched its “Shut AC” initiative, switching to free cooling units, which are far more energy-efficient. The same initiative is making sites diesel generator (DG)-free by transitioning to advanced battery bank solutions and fuel cell-based generators. Further, Airtel is deepening this collaboration, working closely with Indus Towers to significantly reduce dependence on diesel by transitioning to high-powered batteries and alternative sources of energy.
Moving towards open access
India’s telcos are deploying a layered procurement architecture that mirrors, in structure if not yet in scale, the approaches pioneered by global hyperscalers. The building blocks are captive on-site solar at tower and office locations; off-site open access and captive PPAs connected via interstate transmission system or intra-state transmission system networks; and equity stakes in renewable SPVs to satisfy the 26 per cent captive consumer requirement under the Electricity Act, 2003.
The SPV model has become particularly significant. It allows operators to secure long-term captive power at competitive tariffs while qualifying legally as captive consumers, avoiding surcharges that can erode the economics of third-party open access procurement. Airtel, Indus Towers and Vi have all adopted this model, with agreement structures spanning 25 years that lock in renewable supply and price certainty through the mid-2040s and beyond.
The concept of round-the-clock green power, rather than merely achieving annual renewable parity, remains aspirational for Indian telcos. However, the barriers are real, including grid intermittency, insufficient utility-scale storage, and the geographic complexity of managing energy across hundreds of thousands of sites spanning 22 telecom circles with varying state grid mixes. The country is still working towards laying the foundations. Battery costs have decreased by more than 90 per cent since 2010, making storage economics increasingly compelling. Indus Towers’ battery bank deployments and Jio’s DG-free site transition programmes are building the physical infrastructure for what could, in time, become genuine hourly renewable matching across India’s network.
Strengthening policy environment
India’s policy environment for green telecom has strengthened. The draft National Telecom Policy 2025 sets a headline green target for a 30 per cent reduction in the telecom sector’s carbon footprint, with 30 per cent of telecom towers shifting to renewable energy by 2030. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also proposed sharing active and passive telecom infrastructure to cut costs by 16-35 per cent and reduce the sector’s carbon footprint, enhancing efficiency through shared networks, towers and fibre assets.
However, a large proportion of India’s towers in rural areas still depend on DGs for a significant share of their operating hours. The 30-30-30 policy remains in draft form, while its impact will depend on formalisation, robust enforcement mechanisms, and whether it is backed by credible funding instruments for smaller operators and tower companies working in the most challenging grid environments.
Closing the gap between ambition and delivery
Net, net, the Indian telecom sector’s sustainability journey is real and accelerating. Jio’s 2035 net-zero ambition, backed by 174 MWp of installed solar across over 20,000 sites and a 35 MWp centralised plant, is among the most ambitious in the global industry. Airtel’s 42,000 solar network points, Nxtra’s 200+ MW renewable PPA portfolio, and Indus Towers’ 3.5 GW open access aspiration represent tangible, measurable commitments. Even Vi, constrained by serious financial pressures, is now systematically building a captive renewable base through sequential SPV acquisitions and the GEOA framework.
However, gaps remain. While the 30-30-30 policy framework is a meaningful step, making it count will be harder. Indus Towers, central to the sector’s entire energy story, has not yet published SBTi-validated reduction targets. Vi’s net-zero date remains absent, even as it signs PPAs after PPAs. Further, the structural reality of diesel dependency across rural India’s tower network is a problem that no single operator or tower company can resolve alone because it demands coordinated policy, funding and grid investment.
