CapitaLand India Trust Sets Up 21MW Solar Plant in Tamil Nadu

CapitaLand India Trust has launched its first captive solar plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu as part of efforts to step up sustainability at the Singapore-listed REIT.

The 21-megawatt solar plant will generate more than 30 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and meet power supply needs for the equivalent of 2 million square feet (185,806 square metres) of office space, CLINT said Thursday in a release.

Power generated by the solar plant will be used predominantly for the common areas of CLINT’s Tamil Nadu assets, which include two IT parks, a warehouse and a data centre in Chennai, the state capital. The hook-up will increase CLINT’s green energy usage by more than 70 percent and cut the REIT’s carbon emissions by over 17,000 tonnes, according to the trust’s manager, which is owned by Temasek-controlled CapitaLand Investment.

“The solar power plant in Tamil Nadu is testament to our increasing adoption of renewable energy,” said Sanjeev Dasgupta, CEO of the manager. “This is central to CLINT’s decarbonisation strategy and in line with our sponsor CapitaLand Investment’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 2050.”

Targeting Green Goals

The Tamil Nadu facility has an 8MW expansion potential to bring the solar plant’s total size to 29MW. CLINT has also been installing rooftop solar panels across its buildings and procuring green energy through long-term power purchase agreements.

As of last month, 99 percent of CLINT’s business park assets had received green ratings from either the Indian Green Building Council or the US Green Building Council, the manager said.

Vinamra Srivastava, CapitaLand Investment’s chief sustainability officer, said the expansion of renewable energy solutions in India shows the fund manager’s focus on achieving targets such as raising the use of renewable energy to 45 percent by 2030.

“In 2022, 26 of CLI’s properties in seven countries and 10 business parks in India were powered by renewable energy, mitigating about 33,500 tonnes of carbon emissions,” Srivastava said. “This is equivalent to the annual emissions of 7,400 petrol-powered cars.”

Chennai Expansion

Earlier this month, CapitaLand Investment unveiled a plan to invest INR 45 billion ($540 million) in business parks, logistics and data centre developments in Chennai over the next five years.

The company signed three memorandums of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government, committing INR 15 billion to expand its International Tech Park Chennai (Radial Road) and INR 11.5 billion to build a data centre in the neighbourhood of Ambattur.

Over a span of five years, CapitaLand Investment will allocate INR 10 billion to beef up its Chennai logistics portfolio through its Ascendas First Space joint venture with local partner Firstspace Realty, while the remaining INR 8.5 billion will be allotted for other unspecified projects.