Teraco, a Digital Realty company and provider of interconnection platforms and vendor-neutral colocation data centres, has started construction on its 120 MW solar PV power plant in the Free State, South Africa.
Teraco already has solar power installed at its JB2 facility in Isando.
In a world first for data centre operators, Teraco will own the utility-scale solar PV plant and wheel the renewable energy to its data centres, with the plan to create its own sustainable energy source to power the next generation of client cloud and AI computing applications. The plant is expected to come online in late 2026.
“Investing in renewable energy infrastructure has become an industry imperative at this time when computing applications such as artificial intelligence are using more and more electricity. The need is more acute in South Africa, in the context of the country’s electricity generation constraints and current levels of renewable energy penetration.
“For Teraco, this is a significant step towards meeting our renewable energy ambitions and those of our clients. It is only the first phase of our longer-term renewable energy commitment, with the start of construction marking an important milestone in what has been a long journey over the past several years. We are looking forward to driving the project to completion,” says Jan Hnizdo, CEO at Teraco.
“In South Africa, we have various energy challenges, and this presents an opportunity to support the needs of our broader community with the addition of generation capacity to the constrained grid, and to meet Teraco’s near-term renewable energy objectives,” Hnidzo says. The company aims to power its data centres with 50% renewable energy by 2027 and 100% by 2035.
“With this holistic approach, Teraco plans to own its data centres and to power them with renewable energy, creating a sustainable path to growth. It 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,” Hnidzo adds.
Teraco secured grid capacity allocation from Eskom for the solar plant in February and over the past eight months has been finalising plant design and the wheeling arrangements between Eskom and the municipalities of Ekurhuleni and Cape Town, where several of its data centres are located.
Wheeling renewable energy across electrical grids enables power to be moved from a renewable energy producer in one area via existing transmission and distribution systems to end users in other areas. It also allows for the location of renewable energy projects in areas with high energy yields to maximise their generation potential. Wheeling energy to multiple municipalities marks another first for renewable energy projects in South Africa.
Bryce Allan, Head of Sustainability at Teraco, says, “Teraco considers this project essential to achieving its renewable energy ambitions and believes it will pave the way for renewable energy wheeling projects in other municipalities. This will assist municipalities in attracting new investments and remaining competitive as local and international companies become increasingly sensitive to the carbon intensity of their electricity supply.”
Teraco has partnered with JUWI and Subsolar to develop the 120 MW solar PV plant, with JUWI appointed to design and manage the procurement, construction, and commissioning.
“Our strategy is to control our own solar project and, together with our partners, drive its development. With this project we are delivering on our commitments to clients and shareholders,” he adds.
Teraco will also be upgrading Eskom’s transmission infrastructure to allow the electricity generated to be successfully transmitted through the national grid. When fully operational, the 120 MW solar PV plant is expected to produce more than 354 000 MWh annually.
For more information visit: teraco.co.za
