South African data centre provider Teraco has secured its first grid capacity allocation from state-operated utility Eskom and will start constructing a 120MW utility-scale solar PV plant.
The grid capacity allocation will enable Teraco to connect its planned 120MW solar PV plant to the national electrical grid. The generated power will be transferred across Eskom and municipal power networks to Teraco’s facilities across South Africa.
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The solar PV plant is expected to generate more than 338,000MWh of power annually. German solar developer Juwi is responsible for designing and managing the solar PV plant’s procurement, construction, and commissioning.
Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco, commented on the allocation: “In South Africa, we have various energy challenges, and this presents an incredible opportunity to meet our near-term renewable energy goals while adding additional power capacity to a generation-constrained grid.”
In addition to the solar PV plant, Teraco has deployed about 6MW of rooftop solar integrated into its facilities over the past two years. The company added that this capacity will be increased to 10MW.
South Africa has been increasing its installed solar capacity, as the seventh bidding round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) opened for interested parties in December 2023. Awarded projects in this round will have 24 months since commercial close to complete and connect to the grid the projects, as the government aims to promote projects that are fully developed.