Africa Data Centres and Distributed Power Africa Southern Africa (DPA SA) have broken ground on their solar farm South Africa. The solar farm, located in the Free State province, aims to provide renewable energy to Africa Data Centres’ carrier-neutral data centre CPT1 facility in Cape Town in the first phase, and then to JHB1 and JHB2 in Johannesburg in the second phase.
Africa Data Centres is a business of the Cassava Technologies group. In a press release, the company said that this announcement forms a crucial component of a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) it had inked in March 2023 with DPA SA, a joint company of the French utility EDF and Distributed Power Africa.
According to Cassava Technologies’ President and Group CEO, Hardy Pemhiwa, “This is in line with a broader industry shift towards innovative, eco-friendly practices. The strategic use of solar power showcases technology’s role in pioneering solutions for energy challenges and environmental sustainability.”
“Beyond procuring renewable energy, our commitment to an efficiency strategy has earned us the internationally recognised ISO50001 certification for the effective operation of our data centres,” said Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres, shedding light on how they are walking the talk on sustainability. “Data centres worldwide face scrutiny for their reliance on grid power and renewables, and Africa is no exception. Africa Data Centres is actively addressing this issue by generating renewable energy, alleviating strain on the local grid. Additionally, our sustainability objectives encompass achieving net-zero status at all facilities, making this project another significant stride towards reaching that goal,” he adds.
Nawfal El Fadil, the CEO of DPA SA, said, “We are thrilled and honoured to contribute to Africa Data Centres’ mission of achieving carbon neutrality, beginning with the establishment of this solar power plant in the Free State to serve their data centre in Cape Town.”
