AI Data Centres To Consume 26.3 GW Power By FY32: MoS Power

The power ministry expects AI data centres to guzzle 26.3 gigawatts (GWs) of power by fiscal year 2031-32 (FY32).

In a written reply before the Parliament, minister of state (MoS) for power, Shripad Naik, said that this additional data centre load will primarily be served by renewable energy capacity. Overall, peak electricity demand is expected to cross 388 GWs by March 2032. 

“… An additional load of 26.3 GW from artificial intelligence (AI) data centres is projected by 2031-32, which is expected to be integrated into the grid and primarily served by renewable energy capacity,” said Naik. 

The latest data is almost 2X the government’s last projection in March this year. At the time, the Centre estimated  that electricity demand from data centres could reach 13.56 GW by FY32.

Naik added that the ministry is building transmission infrastructure in a phased manner and adding capacity, including renewable energy, to address the growing electricity demand.

Meanwhile, The Indian Express reported that the ministry is currently holding discussions with industry stakeholders on building reliable power supply and embedding transmission and grid balancing to offset the spiky power load from data centers. Talks are also said to have centred on data centres away from urban centres to avoid transmission congestion.

The comments come as homegrown conglomerates continue to announce plans to build large scale AI data centre clusters. While Adani Group has partnered with manufacturing company Jabil Inc to build a vertically-integrated data centre infrastructure, Reliance plans to invest up to ₹10 Lakh Cr in AI over the next seven years. Last week, IT giant HCLTech also signed an MoU with AI giant Sarvam AI to set up a $1.5 Bn AI data centre in Odisha. 

Amid this boom, major global tech players have also announced plans to set up data centres within the country. While Google has begun construction on its $15 Bn AI data centre hub in Visakhapatnam, Microsoft has committed $3 Bn to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in India. 

Despite aggressive expansion plans, operators continue to grapple with high power consumption, limited access to reliable renewable energy, land acquisition hurdles, cooling requirements and rising capital costs.

AI workloads are making data centres significantly more energy-intensive, raising questions over the country’s grid readiness and stainability. As a result, many citizens have also taken to the streets to raise these concerns.

In Maharashtra’s Thane, many are are protesting against Amazon’s proposed 422MW data centre over fears of noise pollution from backup diesel generators, high electricity demands and tree felling.

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