Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government is set to introduce a dedicated sustainable data centre policy, in addition to its existing framework to address the environmental impact of massive high-maintenance computing hubs. The state is grappling with local resistance and the massive power and water demands required to sustain such data centres.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Karnataka IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge said the government has faced pushback at the local level due to data centres creating “heat islands”.
Data centres require vast quantities of water for cooling. To reduce the strain on the city’s freshwater resources, the government plans to supply treated water to these facilities.
A 500 MW data centre park is planned near Hoskote, Bengaluru. It will receive 60 million litres per day of secondary-treated water from the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board, and the industries will handle tertiary treatment themselves. Solar power from the 2,000 MW Pavagada Solar Park will be supplied to the centre.
Other areas where data centre parks are planned include Mysuru and Mangaluru.
