Can Data Centres Make Telangana Hotter? Experts Raise Red Flags
HYDERABAD: The rapid expansion of data centres in Telangana could create large heat-generating centres that worsen summer temperatures and increase pressure on scarce water resources, environmental and public policy expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy has warned.
He has urged the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to make environmental impact assessments (EIA) mandatory for data centres. In addition, he has requested the ministry to introduce a separate environmental classification for such projects.
Data centres need a separate environmental category
According to Narasimha Reddy, authorities currently assess data centres under the environmental category meant for townships and area development projects. However, he argued that this classification does not reflect the unique environmental impact of data centres.
“Data centres bear little resemblance to townships,” he said. “They are single-purpose industrial facilities that operate round the clock. They consume large amounts of electricity and water for cooling. At the same time, they continuously release heat into the surrounding environment.”
Therefore, he urged the ministry to notify a separate project category called “heat-generating centres” under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
He also said the present environmental clearance process does not adequately assess a data centre’s thermal load. Moreover, it does not examine the cumulative impact of multiple facilities in one region or evaluate water demand against local climate and agricultural conditions.
Narasimha Reddy said he has already written to the ministry requesting a separate environmental classification for data centres.
Proposed Shabad data centre raises concerns
Referring to the proposed hyperscale data centre complex at Chandanvelly and Manchanpally in Shabad mandal of Rangareddy district, Narasimha Reddy said the project’s environmental impact assessment estimates a power requirement of 645.07 MW and a water demand of 200 kilolitres per day.
Meanwhile, the proposed site is located in an area where summer temperatures usually range between 40°C and 44°C. During May, temperatures often touch 45°C.
He said almost all electricity consumed by a data centre eventually becomes heat.
“A single 645 MW facility is thermally equivalent to several hundred thousand household air-conditioners operating continuously at one location,” he said.
Studies indicate local temperature rise
Citing scientific studies, Narasimha Reddy said data centres with capacities ranging from 36 MW to 169 MW have increased average downwind air temperatures by 0.7°C to 0.9°C. In some cases, temperatures rose by as much as 2.2°C within 500 metres of the facilities.
Furthermore, he said the proposed Shabad project is one of several planned within a 15-20 km radius in Rangareddy district. As a result, overlapping heat plumes could create a much larger cumulative impact.
Agriculture may also be affected
According to Narasimha Reddy, publicly available information shows Telangana has signed memorandums of understanding for nearly 11 GW of proposed data centre capacity.
“The scale of continuous heat rejection involved is of an entirely different order. This will be equal to around eight million household air-conditioners running without interruption,” he said.
He added that these facilities are expected to cluster around Chandanvelly, Bharat Future City, Fab City and the proposed Chevella data centre city.
Moreover, around 60% of the surrounding land remains under agriculture. He warned that the combined effects of continuous heat generation and heavy water consumption could affect farming as more data centres become operational.
Finally, Narasimha Reddy called for mandatory public hearings before authorities approve large data centre projects. He said local communities should have an opportunity to understand and evaluate their environmental impact before clearances are granted.
