Four new major data centres in Cape Town are set to consume the equivalent of 34% of the city's current maximum electricity demand, raising sustainability concerns. Civil society groups have objected to Equinix's proposals over lacks in information on water, emissions and diesel generators. The city and Equinix responded that impacts are manageable.
Four major data centres are planned in Cape Town: Cavaleros Group's 360MW facility (thought to be linked to Microsoft, unconfirmed), Teraco's 60MW expansion, and Equinix's two centres with a combined peak demand of 160MW. Together, they would require 580MW, equating to over 34% of the City of Cape Town’s current maximum demand of 1,676MW.
The city did not comment on the calculation, citing Protection of Personal Information Act restrictions on customer data. A senior official noted that the additional demands are not significant in scale and could reinvigorate the grid.
