Market Trends of Africa Data Center Power Industry
IT and Telecom to Hold Significant Share
- Telecom providers are primarily responsible for driving content delivery and facilitating mobile and cloud services, which is why telecom data centers require high connectivity. This specific type of data center is connected to other data centers, cloud providers, and telecom operators through outside plant (OSP) cables, with cross-connects extensively deployed to ensure efficient operations.
- Nigeria has one of the largest telecom markets in Africa, supported by the second-largest economy on the continent after South Africa. In February 2023, the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Nigerian telecom regulator, reported that the number of active mobile telecommunication plan subscriptions in the country reached about 222,571 million in 2023, which shows the demand for mobile services in Nigeria. Overall, the increasing network traffic is leading to major data center investment and DC power adoption.
- According to the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission), as of June 2022, Nigeria's broadband penetration was 44.30%, with more than 84 million subscriptions, compared to about 76 million in 2022. COVID-19 boosted subscriber counts under remote working schemes. With increasing data center construction, the demand for the market is expected to increase.
- The rapidly increasing 4G penetration and the upcoming 5G wave are adhering telecom vendors to invest in the African data center power market. In October 2022, the South African telecom provider Telkom established the 5G high-speed internet network with the help of Huawei Technologies from China. Huawei continues to assist South Africa in developing its 5G networks. The prominent 5G network on the African continent has more than 2,800 base stations deployed.
- The deployment of 5G would play a key role in pushing the expansion plans and executing them as planned. For 5G networks and ubiquitous broadband, the country requires 167,000 km of fiber infrastructure. Data center facilities will be in demand in Nigeria as fiber connectivity increases and advanced technologies can be used remotely. Such factors will lead to major data center power adoption.
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South Africa to Register Significant Growth
- Despite recent investments in data center infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, much of the continent’s capacity remains in South Africa, where local providers brought more than 50 MW of dedicated data center IT load capacity online between 2017 and 2019.
- In South Africa, unstable power supplies that are still heavily fossil fuel dependent and increasingly expensive are significant challenges for the data center industry. Over and above the critical importance of a stable power supply, responsible corporate citizenship, and meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices combine to put significant pressure on data center owners to service the continent and ensure that Africa can keep pace with the rest of the world.
- South Africa receives more than 2,500 hours of sunshine annually, with average solar radiation levels ranging between 4.5 and 6.5 kWh/m2 daily. The country’s average solar radiation of about 220 Watts per square meter is more than double that of Europe (100 W/m2). Solar energy, therefore, is one of the most promising renewable energy options for reducing dependency on the grid. The Northern Cape has become a hotspot for solar power plant investments, which expects the major demand for solar generators during the forecast period.
- The cloud switched PDU series provides a versatile power management solution featuring advanced surge protection, seamless cloud management, and easy installation. To take benefit of this untapped market, various large cloud companies are adopting such PDUs with increasing investment in the country. AWS announced plans to launch data center infrastructure in the country. AWS invested ZAR 15.6 billion (USD 858 million) through 2022 to meet customer demand for cloud computing services.
- Switched power distribution units also allow key personnel to control the on/off state of individual outlets remotely. This allows operators to manage critical loads, avoid wasted power, ensure equipment is plugged into the correct phase, and manage schedules. In South Africa, HPE offers HPE G2 metered and switched PDU, providing local and remote power management with outlet-level power metering and switching. An LCD screen provides local monitoring and alert indications, while remote access and configuration are obtainable through secure web, SNMP, CLI, or telnet interfaces.
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