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Huawei has developed energy-efficient data centres that cut power consumption by 70 percent. The solution, known as PowerPOD 3.0 data centres, is applicable for 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data systems.

Data centres host firms’ IT and telecommunications equipment whose infrastructures consume copious amounts of electricity.

Huawei Digital Power Southern Africa President Jason Xia Hesheng said the innovation enables companies to reduce carbon footprints by 40 per cent.

“It is projected that by 2025, Africa will have more than 600-million internet users and 360 million intelligent end-users, necessitating the use of efficient data centres,” he said.

According to Hesheng’, the new low-carbon, smart data centres are built to enable customers pursue modern transformative technologies such as 5G and AI while protecting the planet.

This, he said, is necessary as there is a shortage of power on the continent and the little that is available needs to be used optimally.

Data shows that the average annual Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating for Kenya’s local data centres is 1.8, which is above an ideal rating of 1.0.

“At Huawei, we are ready and willing to contribute to green development in Africa and are proud of our tradition of ensuring that all technologies are sustainable while pushing the boundaries of innovation,” Hesheng said.

As economies look to decarbonize, they will have to do so without compromising on performance or drastically increasing their physical footprints, given that the initial construction of a data center accounts for a third of its costs, with the other two-thirds coming from O&M.