Construction has started on a 120MW solar PV power station in northern Free State, South Africa, that will provide electricity to data centres hundreds of kilometres away.

Through an agreement reached with state utility Eskom in February 2024, Teraco will wheel renewable energy across the national grid to its data centres in Ekurhuleni (Gauteng) and Cape Town (Western Cape).

The new solar power station is expected to be online in two years and will produce an estimated 354 000MWh of electricity a year.

Teraco partnered with Juwi and Subsolar for the plant’s design, procurement and commissioning, reports Moneyweb.

‘Driving renewable energy infrastructure investment at a time when computing applications such as artificial intelligence are using increased power is an industry imperative,’ according to Teraco CEO Jan Hnizdo.

19 November 2024
Image: Freepik