- Orange and Engie have joined forces to convert the telecom’s main data centre in Africa located in Côte d’Ivoire to solar power, helping to reduce its carbon footprint.
In December 2021, Orange signed an EaaS (Energy as a Service) contract with Engie to convert the Groupement Orange Services (GOS) to solar power by installing a solar plant on rooftops and solar carports, for a total installed capacity of 355kWp. This will reduce its environmental footprint, minimise the share of commercial electricity from non-renewable sources and avoid using fuel generators (fossil energy that emits CO2). The commissioning is scheduled for the second half of 2022.
The GOS is a resource-pooling entity for the 18 Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) subsidiaries, which provides pooled hosting and infrastructure operation services, service platforms and IT to all the subsidiaries. The data centre was built in 2016 in Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, on a site covering 16,600 m².
Armand Seya, CEO of ENGIE Services West Africa explained Engie Africa is active in electricity production, energy services and decentralised solutions for off-grid customers across the continent. “We are proud to support the Groupement Orange Services in its energy transition having ensured the multi-technical maintenance of the data centre since 2019 and now with the implementation of this solar plant.
Author: Nomvuyo Tena
Nomvuyo Tena is a Content Producer at Vuka Group and is as passionate about the energy transition in Africa as she is about music and Beyonce.
This article was originally published on ESI Africa and is republished with permission with minor editorial changes.