Data centre provider Teraco has started construction of a 120MW utility-scale solar PV project in South Africa.
Located in the Free State province, the project will be owned by Teraco and is expected to be operational in 2026.
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The company will own the solar PV plant, which Teraco said was a “world first” for data centre operators as it aims to power client cloud and AI computing applications.
For the construction of the solar PV plant, Teraco has partnered with German solar developer Juwi and South African solar developer Subsolar, with Juwi responsible for designing and managing procurement, construction and commissioning of the 120MW PV plant.
“Driving renewable energy infrastructure investment at a time when computing applications such as artificial intelligence are using increased power is an industry imperative. The need is even more acute in South Africa, given its electricity generation constraints and current levels of renewable energy penetration,” said Jan Hnizdo, CEO at Teraco.
Power outages have been a consistent problem in South Africa for several years, and the country has a very constrained electricity grid, and both topics have been covered by PV Tech Premium in the past on several occasions (both Premium access).
“This initiative aligns with Teraco’s long-term vision of powering digital transformation across Africa. South Africa’s solar power represents a competitive advantage for data centres relative to other locations,” added Hnizdo.
The data centre provider secured grid capacity allocation from state-operated utility Eskom in February 2024.
