STT GDC India and CleanMax expand renewable energy deal to over 130 MW

STT GDC India, a colocation data centre operator, and CleanMax, a commercial and industrial renewable energy company, have signed additional Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), taking their combined renewable energy capacity beyond 130 MW across data centre locations in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

The latest deal adds 21 MWp of solar capacity to an existing wind-solar hybrid supply arrangement serving STT GDC India's Chennai facilities. As part of the expanded terms, STT GDC India will hold a 26% equity stake in the underlying renewable energy project, shifting the arrangement from a straightforward offtake deal to a direct ownership position.

The hybrid model, combining wind and solar generation, is designed to maintain a steadier power supply compared to single-source renewable setups. This matters for data centres running AI and high-density compute workloads, which require consistent, uninterrupted power rather than intermittent supply.

STT GDC India's CEO Bimal Khandelwal said the company is targeting carbon neutrality by 2030, with renewables currently making up around 70% of its energy mix as of 2025.

For CleanMax, the data centre and AI segment now accounts for roughly 42% of its total contracted capacity — up nearly tenfold over two years — reflecting how quickly the sector has become a core market for industrial renewable suppliers.

The deal highlights a broader shift among data centre operators in India: renewable energy procurement is moving from a sustainability checkbox to a core infrastructure decision, driven by the power demands of AI workloads and long-term cost considerations. 

Kuldeep Jain, Managing Director, Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions Limited, said, “The future of digital infrastructure will be defined as much by how it is powered as by how it is built. As AI and data-led growth accelerates, integrating renewable energy at scale is essential to ensuring long-term competitiveness, resilience, and responsible growth.”

Khandelwal said, “Our expanded partnership with CleanMax strengthens our ability to secure renewable energy at scale, supporting the rising intensity of AI-led and high-density workloads. This is critical to sustaining performance in an increasingly compute-driven world.”