India’s Data Centre Boom: Integrating Power, Cooling and Water

Data Centres: More Than a Computing Story

India’s growing data-centre industry is not just about computing capacity. It is also an infrastructure challenge involving electricity demand, cooling systems, water consumption, renewable energy, and grid connectivity.

Firstgreen’s latest analysis examines a representative 100 MW IT facility to understand how these factors interact and influence overall project economics.

Balancing Energy, Water and Infrastructure

Data-centre planning involves several interconnected considerations:

• Electricity demand: Ensuring sufficient and reliable power supply.
• Cooling efficiency: Managing heat while optimising energy consumption.
• Water use: Accounting for the water requirements of cooling systems.
• Renewable energy: Integrating cleaner electricity into the facility’s energy supply.
• Grid connectivity: Considering connection timelines and their impact on project planning.

Optimising one factor in isolation can increase costs or create constraints elsewhere. Effective planning therefore requires evaluating these elements together rather than treating them as separate decisions.

The Importance of Integrated Planning

As India’s data-centre capacity expands, developers will need to consider power availability, cooling requirements, water resources, and grid infrastructure from the early stages of project development.

The key takeaway: The next generation of data centres will require integrated planning across power, water, and infrastructure to support efficient and sustainable growth.

See the original Firstgreen LinkedIn post.