Civil society groups have asked for a halt on new data centres in South Africa until clear rules for the industry are in place. They say the centres use too much water and power in a country where many people lack both.
South Africa already has more than 60 data centres, the most in Africa. The sector is growing fast because of demand from artificial intelligence.
“It’s a direct land issue,” Housing Assembly activist Kenneth Matlawe told AFP. “It affects the water and sanitation policy. It affects socio-economic development because any form of development must benefit the community,” he said.
Matlawe lived for 15 years in Barcelona, an informal settlement in Cape Town. Homes there have no piped water or sanitation. Residents collect water from a communal tap.
The Housing Assembly, UK non-profit Foxglove and other groups have appealed the city’s rezoning of land near Barcelona. The land was bought by US-based Equinix, which runs about 280 data centres around the world.
The rezoning could allow Equinix to develop the land near the international airport. Equinix managing director Sandile Dube told AFP the company had no immediate plans to do so.
If a project goes ahead, Dube said it would “follow the due process that takes into consideration some of the concerns that the local communities might have.” He said Equinix uses dry cooling, which uses very little water.
In September, the Housing Assembly and Extinction Rebellion sent a petition to the Cape Town mayor. They asked for a halt until “clearly defined, enforceable regulations and standards are in place to govern this rapidly expanding industry.”
Cape Town has about a dozen data centres and has approved licences for five more.
“It’s not just Cape Town, it’s the entire South Africa,” Legal Resources Centre attorney Saadiyah Kadwa told AFP. She represents the groups.
In a submission to the South African Human Rights Commission, the groups said large data centres could use more than 4.4 billion litres of water a year with standard cooling. They said this equals the yearly water use of more than 18,000 households.
Cape Town narrowly avoided a “Day Zero” water shutdown in 2018. It could reportedly face water restrictions from December as the El Nino weather pattern takes hold.
University of Cape Town senior lecturer Pitso Tsibolane told AFP that a 160 MW data centre could use about 1.4 billion kWh a year at full load.
Digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi said there are no specific rules for data centres. He said they must follow existing building and environmental laws and put “the self-provision of electricity and water” first.
The centres also create few jobs. “Once operating, they are among the least labour-intensive buildings in the economy,” Tsibolane said. Equinix said its centre outside Johannesburg employed about 750 people during building but now has 26 permanent staff.
Tsibolane said new laws should require companies to disclose power demand, water use and cooling design before approval. “Serious investors are not deterred by clear rules,” he said.
The appeal against the Cape Town rezoning was heard in October. A non-binding recommendation is due within 90 days.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Africanews. Image: Africanews. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.