Deloitte Urges India to Leverage Renewable Energy Strength to Power AI Data Centre Ambitions
Deloitte’s ‘Powering Asia Pacific’s Data Centre Boom’ report said the region is emerging as the next major global data centre hub, creating economic value but also placing new pressure on power systems already undergoing energy transition.
February 23, 2026. By Abha Rustagi
Deloitte’s ‘Powering Asia Pacific’s Data Centre Boom’ report said the region is emerging as the next major global data centre hub, creating economic value but also placing new pressure on power systems already undergoing energy transition.
India’s expanding renewable energy capacity can play a central role in supporting the next phase of data centre growth, provided it strengthens power sourcing strategies, grid readiness and policy coordination to ensure reliable and sustainable energy supply at scale, the report said.
“Asia Pacific is at a tipping point,” said Will Symons, Sustainability Leader at Deloitte Asia Pacific. “AI, cloud and digital connectivity are surging, driving massive new investments in energy-intensive data centres. Taking a power-first approach with clean energy is critical to power new data centres, accelerate decarbonisation and underpin continued economic growth,” added Symons.
Debasish Mishra, Chief Growth Officer at Deloitte South Asia, said India has a structural opportunity to emerge as one of the world’s leading data centre hubs.
“India has a rare structural opportunity to rise as one of the world’s leading data centre hubs, powered by its cost competitiveness, deep talent, and rapidly expanding renewable energy base. The defining moment will be how swiftly power availability and transmission readiness scale with the country’s digital ambition,” Mishra said.
However, the report highlighted key challenges, including a widening energy supply gap as data centre capacity expands faster than power generation, grid stability limitations, constrained substation capacity in high-growth corridors and delays in transmission upgrades.
It also flagged regulatory differences across states in renewable banking, tariffs and incentives, along with the absence of a unified national framework to support renewable integration for data centres.
Deloitte recommended accelerating renewable integration through solar-wind hybrid projects with storage, expanding long-term green power purchase agreements and captive renewable installations, and strengthening transmission infrastructure near emerging data centre clusters.
The report also called for dedicated data centre economic zones with pre-built power infrastructure, standardised renewable banking policies and wider use of decentralised renewable energy, including co-located solar and storage systems.
It added that using AI to schedule non-urgent computing tasks when clean power is available could further improve efficiency.
If implemented effectively, these measures could help India build a globally competitive and sustainable AI infrastructure while strengthening long-term energy security, Deloitte said.
please contact: contact@energetica-india.net.
Bharat Bala
Builder and CEO
EVs Emerging as High-Yield Financial Assets for Businesses: Bharat Bala, Builder & CEO, AMP.EV
IAS Lokesh Chandra
CMD
Technology & Grid Modernisation Key to Reliable Power Supply, Says Lokesh Chandra, CMD, MSEDCL
Manish Khare
Managing Director
India Has Potential to Add 10 GW of Agri-Voltaic Capacity in Five Years: Manish Khare
Ch. Bhavani Suresh
Founder and Managing Director
Industry is Shifting from Standalone Solar to Integrated Energy Solutions: MD, Truzon Solar
Ekta Kabra
Vice Chairperson and MD
India Must Develop A Robust Testing and Certification Ecosystem for BESS: Ekta Kabra, Geon