Expert Insists Going Green is Future for Data Centers in Africa

Emma Okonji

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Rack Centre, a Tier III Carrier and Cloud neutral data centre in West Africa, Jasper Lankhorst, has restated the company’s commitment to the green economy even as it has vowed to continually enhance its drive for sustainability in its operations.

Lankhorst made this known at the just concluded 2022 AfricaCom/Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, South Africa.

Speaking during the panel session with the theme: ‘The Importance of Going Green’, for the future of Data Centres in Africa, he explained that Rack Centre, part of the pan-African data centre platform, was undertaking a range of measures that are tailored toward green design principles, some of which include switching from diesel to gas power generation, implementing water-efficient cooling systems, implementing low-energy air circulation system and sourcing local materials and services wherever possible.

According to him, the organisation is switching its power source from diesel to gas, not only to save more than $10 million a year in operating costs but also to reduce carbon footprint, reduce environmental impact and align with global sustainability data centre design trend.