Green energy is a regular – indeed necessary – part of most data centre development announcements these days. In fact in two recent cases – in Kenya and India – it seems to be the main event.
Late last week, according to the ThinkGeoEnergy website, KenGen, the largest electric power producer in Kenya and the Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) broke ground on the construction of a Tier IV data centre as part of the 342-hectare Green Energy Park in Olkaria, Naivasha.
Konza (Konza Technopolis ) is a key flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030 economic development portfolio, a city powered by a thriving information, communications and technology (ICT) sector, superior reliable infrastructure and business-friendly governance systems.
This industrial park aims to harness the geothermal resources in Olkaria to provide a stable and renewable energy source for the industries in the park.
The project will be constructed in four phases from 2025 to 2045. The park is envisioned to host industrial, commercial, and recreational facilities.
In India meanwhile, service provider Bharti Airtel has said it will purchase 23,000 MWh of renewable energy by Q4 of FY23-24 for its data centre company, Nxtra.
As part of its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, Airtel added that it will acquire stakes in the renewable energy project companies established by an India-focused renewable energy group Continuum Green India and corporate renewables solutions company Vibrant Energy Holdings to power six of Nxtra’s edge data centre facilities.
Airtel said that the purchase will be made through an open access route whereby it will acquire a stake in Continuum Green, which will supply green power from solar and wind power projects to Airtel’s edge data centres in Madhya Pradesh. Airtel has entered into a similar stake purchase agreement with Vibrant Energy to supply solar power to its edge data centre in Vijaywada.
With the addition of these new capacities, the total contracted renewable energy capacity for Nxtra data centres will, says Airtel, have exceeded 274,000 MWh.
