South African data center company Teraco has started construction of a 120 MW solar power plant in the Free State province. The project will provide power to Teraco’s data centers. Once operational, it is expected to generate more than 354,000 MWh per year.
“We have worked with Juwi and Subsolar to develop the 120MW solar PV plant, with Juwi appointed to design and manage the procurement, construction and commissioning,” the company said in a statement. “We plan to create our own sustainable energy source to power the next generation of client cloud and AI computing applications. The factory is expected to come online by the end of 2026.”
In February, Teraco secured an allocation of grid capacity from state-owned utility Eskom. Since then, the company has focused on finalizing the plant’s design and setting up transport arrangements with Eskom and the municipalities of Ekurhuleni and Cape Town, where several of its data centers are located.
“Encouraging investments in renewable energy infrastructure at a time when computer applications such as artificial intelligence are increasingly consuming more power is a necessity for the sector,” said Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco. “The need is even more urgent in South Africa given electricity generation constraints and current levels of renewable energy penetration.”
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