Africa Data Centres, a business of
Cassava Technologies Group, has signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
with DPA Southern Africa Pty Ltd (DPA SA). A joint company of Distributed Power
Africa and the French utility company, EDF to supply 12 MW of renewable solar energy
for Africa Data Centres facilities in South Africa.
Commenting on the agreement in a statement
issued earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Data Centres, Tesh
Durvasula noted that through the signed agreement customers will benefit from a
sustainable data centre.
He explained
that the as the demand for data continues to soar, the data centre
industry is expanding rapidly, adding that “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”.
Energy will
be delivered to Africa Data Centres’ facilities partly from the solar farm DPA
is developing near Bloemfontein to deliver the first 12MW required for the ADC
data centres.
Research reveals that
the global data centre market was valued at $187.35 billion in 2020 and is
projected to reach $517.17 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 10.5% from
2021 to 2030. In addition, most estimates claim data centres are
responsible for as much as 2% of the world’s energy consumption, which is
approximately the same as the aviation industry.
While it
cannot be denied that tremendous strides have been made towards carbon
neutrality, designing, developing, and
operating sustainable facilities is still one of the greatest
challenges faced by developers, co-location operators, global cloud
computing providers and hyperscalers.
According to
Durvasula, “Each year, the data centre industry must try to accommodate two
fundamental goals. Firstly, it must meet the demand for the capacity needed to
support the ever-increasing range of high-performance computing, digital
services, edge environments and connected devices. Secondly, it must find ways
to lower energy usage and reduce its universal impact resources that are
already stretched to the limit.”
Africa Data
Centres itself has a target to power all its data centres with clean,
zero-carbon sources of energy. “This new deal will provide over 30% of our
South African data centres with renewable energy, a great stride forward in our
aim to reach carbon neutrality.”
The data
centre giant, as the largest pan-African network of interconnected data centre
facilities, is at the vanguard of sustainable change and has always been
committed to helping South African companies reduce their reliance on the
already strained power supply. “By signing this latest PPA, we will reach our
second milestone towards carbon neutrality. Our first milestone was to optimise
our roof space with solar, and this latest deal will see us utilising the
recently approved wheeling mechanism within South Africa’s municipalities”.
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.
Commenting on the partnership Norman Moyo, CEO of DPA, said, “Our
customers are looking for cost-effective and efficient ways of meeting their
green targets and reducing 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
Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd, EDF intends to develop hybrid energy solutions
for clients across Africa. Valérie Levkov, Senior VP of Africa and Middle East at
EDF commented: “This agreement with Africa Data Centres re-affirms EDF’s
commitment to providing low carbon solutions for a commercial and industrial client
in Africa, and we are very pleased to be a part of this initiative.
By
working together, the two companies are also supporting several of the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To ensure access to affordable,
reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all and to make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. This partnership also
creates sustainable consumption and production patterns and, most
significantly, takes urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
