,SOUTH AFRICA – Teraco, a data centre operator, has announced that it has secured its first grid capacity allocation from Eskom and will commence construction of a 120MW utility-scale solar PV energy facility in the Free State province of South Africa.

The signing of the agreement greenlights the next phase of the project, which involves the procurement of solar PV panels and the construction of the solar farm.

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,” said Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco.

Teraco will not only own its data centre facilities but also a significant renewable energy source

This will be a unique approach in Africa since Teraco will not only own its data centre facilities but also a significant renewable energy source with which to power them, creating a sustainable energy path to support growth.”

According to Jan Hnizdo the company will spend about R2 billion (US$105m)  to complete the solar PV project. He anticipates that the solar PV facility will be up and running in 18 months’ time.

South African organizations are increasingly looking to alternative energy sources as state-owned power utility Eskom continues to battle to supply energy.

Over the years, Eskom has been implementing load-shedding, which has a massive impact on business operations and the South African economy.

Mining and telecommunications companies, among others, have been leading the charge on weaning themselves from the struggling Eskom, which currently provides over 90% of South Africa’s electricity mostly from coal-fired power stations.

In a statement, Teraco says the grid capacity allocation from Eskom enables the data centre provider to connect its planned 120MW solar facility to the national electrical grid.

The power generated will be wheeled across Eskom and municipal power networks to Teraco’s facilities across South Africa.

The announcement comes as Teraco is expanding its data centre footprint in South Africa. The company now boasts of critical power load capacity of 186MW, which includes the Isando Campus JB1/JB3/JB5 (70MW), Bredell Campus JB2/JB4 (64MW), Cape Town Campus CT1/CT2 (50MW), and Durban (2MW).

When fully operational, Teraco says the 120MW solar PV plant is expected to produce more than 338 000MWh annually.

Teraco partnered with Juwi Renewable Energies South Africa and Subsolar to develop the 120MW solar PV plant, with Juwi appointed to design and manage the procurement, construction, and commissioning.

In a first for Teraco, a green loan has been raised to finance the building of the plant, says the company, adding that choosing the right partners

It explains that wheeling renewable energy across electrical grids enables power to be moved from a renewable energy producer in outlying areas via existing transmission and distribution systems to end-users located in urban areas.

It also enables the deployment of renewable energy projects to areas with high energy yield to maximize renewable energy generation potential.

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