Cloud services, AI, and digital finance are booming across Africa. Data centres are scrambling to keep up. Operators now face a tough question: how to add capacity without draining resources or harming the environment.
Industry estimates suggest that a 1 MW data centre using water-intensive cooling can consume around 25 million litres of water annually, though actual usage varies by cooling architecture and climate.
Efficiency and practical upgrades over new builds
Erwee says sustainability is not just about saving energy. It’s about power resilience, water use, cooling, equipment, and where the energy comes from. Backup generators are not enough. Operators need to look at their whole energy mix. Renewable power and storage matter.
Cooling is a big target for change. Closed-loop systems, hot- and cold-aisle containment, and using outside air can all cut power and water use. These fixes don’t need a full tech overhaul. They work by making current systems smarter. The International Energy Agency expects global data centre electricity use to nearly double from 485 TWh in 2025 to about 950 TWh by 2030. Africa is part of that story. The clock is ticking.
South Africa currently lacks a unified public register of data centres with details on location, connected capacity, actual energy and water consumption, cooling systems, and permits. Experts have called for such transparency to become a mandatory part of project approvals, noting that the EU already requires reporting from data centres with IT capacity above 500 kW.
Diversifying energy sources and location strategy
Alternative energy is gaining ground. Solar and wind work where the climate fits. Battery storage helps smooth out the ups and downs of renewables. In South Africa, cutting diesel use for backup is a top goal. Gas is sometimes used as a lower-emission backup, but Erwee warns it’s still a fossil fuel. It’s a bridge, not the endgame. The real aim is to blend resilience, efficiency, and cleaner energy. No single fix will do.
Location matters too. A data centre’s footprint is about more than just power and water. Connectivity, closeness to customers, disaster recovery, and matching the right workloads all count. A super-efficient site in the wrong place won’t work. As new regions come online, operators must balance efficient power and cooling with strong connections and backup. A McKinsey forecast says African data centre demand could jump from 0.4 GW to between 1.5 and 2.2 GW by 2030. Investment in new shells alone could hit $10–20 billion. That’s huge.
AI and the imperative to do more with less
Artificial intelligence is raising the stakes. AI needs dense computing. That means more power and tougher cooling demands. Operators can’t just throw more resources at the problem. They have to squeeze more out of every watt and litre.
For operators, this means looking at the whole system. Where does the energy come from? How is cooling handled? When should equipment be replaced? For customers, it’s not just about where their data sits. It’s about how efficiently those centres run. Africa’s digital future depends on data centres that are bigger and much more efficient.
The message is clear. Sustainability can’t be an afterthought for Africa’s data centre sector. The way forward is not endless new builds or chasing the latest tech. It’s about smarter use of what’s already there, more diverse energy, and efficiency in every decision. Only then can Africa’s digital growth continue without draining its limited resources.
