Data Centre Expansion in India Faces Sustainability Reckoning

India is on the cusp of a data centre boom, especially in the Telugu states, where Hyderabad's capacity has surged from 60.9 MW in 2022 to a projected 151.4 MW by 2025. This rapid growth is fueled by the demand for AI and cloud services, positioning Hyderabad as the second-largest data centre market in India. However, the environmental implications are alarming. Activists and scientists are raising red flags about the unsustainable energy and water consumption these facilities require, with projections indicating that a single hyperscale AI facility could consume as much power as a mid-sized city.

Andhra Pradesh's ambitious plans for 6 GW of data centre capacity, including Google's massive campuses, further exacerbate these concerns. Critics argue that the environmental clearances for these projects have been granted under misleading classifications, bypassing necessary scrutiny and public consultation. The Human Rights Forum and local scientists have called for a re-evaluation of these projects, emphasizing that the current regulatory framework is ill-equipped to handle the industrial-scale demands of data centres.

The experience in the U.S. serves as a cautionary tale, where community pushback has stalled or blocked billions in data centre investments due to concerns over power grid strain and water usage. India, with its burgeoning digital economy, risks repeating these mistakes unless it prioritizes sustainable practices in its infrastructure development. The balance between attracting investment and ensuring environmental stewardship is critical, as the urgency to grow must not overshadow the need for responsible governance.

As India advances its AI capabilities, the question remains whether policymakers can create a framework that adequately addresses these competing imperatives. The stakes are high: failing to integrate sustainability into this expansion could lead to significant ecological damage, undermining the very economic growth these data centres are meant to support.