Green energy push, 7.5-GW capacity target: Gujarat's data centre policy, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• The Gujarat government has launched the Viksit Gujarat Data Center Policy (2026-29), targeting investments of ₹6 lakh crore and the creation of 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity.
• The policy mandates that at least 51% of the electricity consumed for core data center operations must come from green and renewable sources.
• It offers a wide range of incentives, including duty and tax exemptions, relief in Floor Space Index (FSI), uninterrupted utilities, and relaxations in building norms.
• The state is actively promoting the Dholera region as a prime location for attracting data center investments.
• This policy follows the recent announcement of a partnership between Reliance Industries Ltd and Meta to lease an AI-enabled data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Detailed Insights:

• Gujarat's policy aims to establish the state as a leading hub for hyperscale and AI-ready data centers, supporting its vision of a $3.5 trillion economy by 2047.
• Financial incentives include 100% reimbursement of electricity duty for 20 years and a subsidy of Re 1 per unit of power consumed for 20 years.
• A capital subsidy of 2.5% on eligible fixed capital investment is offered, specifically for projects in the Dholera region.
• Data center operations will be treated as an "essential service" under the Gujarat Essential Services Maintenance Act to ensure continuous functioning.
• The Reliance-Meta data center in Jamnagar will have an initial capacity of 168 MW and will utilize renewable energy and desalinated seawater for cooling.
• The Adani Group is also developing a 5 GW data center platform across India, which will be powered by the Adani Green Energy park at Khavda in Kutch district, planned for 30 GW renewable energy capacity.
• Gujarat is not the first state with a data center policy; Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh have similar frameworks.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Data Centre Policy: A government framework designed to attract investment, facilitate development, and regulate the operation of data centers within a region.
• Hyperscale Data Centres: Large-scale facilities engineered for massive data processing, storage, and extreme scalability, typically housing over 5,000 servers and spanning more than 10,000 square feet.
• AI-ready Data Centres: Data centers specifically designed with advanced hardware, cooling systems, and low-latency networking to efficiently support intensive Artificial Intelligence workloads.
• Floor Space Index (FSI): A ratio that defines the maximum permissible built-up area on a plot of land relative to the plot's total area, used in urban planning to control construction density.