HARARE – Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies group, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Distributed Power Africa (DPA) to supply the organisation with 12MW of solar energy.
DPA is a pan-African renewable energy company with key operations in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe whose vision is to power Africa to a brighter future.
Tesh Durvasula, chief executive officer of Africa Data Centres, an organisation that hosts the largest network of data centres in Africa, said the 12 MW renewable energy deal will provide a cost-effective alternative to electricity.
“Through this agreement, our customers will benefit from a sustainable data centre. As the demand for data continues to soar, the data centre industry is expanding rapidly,” Durvasula said.
“However, while data centres are the foundation of the digital transformation process in Africa, they require reliable, cost-effective and preferably green power to operate.
“Our partnership with DPA will also help in reducing our reliance on the strained South African national grid, enabling us to play our part in alleviating the current energy challenges facing the country.”
The energy will be delivered to Africa Data Centre’s facilities partly from the solar farm DPA is developing near Bloemfontein to deliver the first 12MW required for the ADC data centres.
Also commenting on the partnership, DPA chief executive officer Norman Moyo said the deal will assist in providing a reliable power supply.
“Our customers are looking for cost-effective and efficient ways of meeting their green targets and reduce energy costs for their businesses in a climate of increased power shortages.
“We are excited to embark on this milestone project with Africa Data Centres as it will demonstrate our innovation in deploying renewable energy solutions.”
Through the creation of a 50:50 joint venture between DPA and EDF in South Africa via DPA SA, EDF intends to develop hybrid energy solutions for clients across Africa.
Valérie Levkov, senior vice president in Africa and Middle East at EDF, said: “This agreement with Africa Data Centres re-affirms EDF’s commitment to provide low-carbon solutions for commercial and industrial clients in Africa, and we are very pleased to be a part of this initiative.”
Research indicates that the global data centre market was valued at $US187,35 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $US517,17 billion by 2030.
In addition, estimates indicate that data centres are responsible for as much as 2 percent of the world’s energy consumption, which is approximately the same as the aviation industry.
