Cape Town's Municipal Planning Tribunal has approved Equinix's application to develop two hyperscale data centers in the King Air Industria precinct, a decision that has triggered a potential legal challenge from groups like the Housing Assembly and Foxglove, represented by the Legal Resources Centre.
The activist groups argued that the application lacked crucial information regarding the data centers' water and electricity needs, environmental footprint, and the impact of backup diesel generators. They highlighted concerns about Cape Town's historical water scarcity and an already unstable power grid. For instance, the proposed facilities, with an estimated electrical demand of up to 174 MW, could consume approximately 4.4 billion liters of water annually, based on traditional cooling methods, and could power around 130,000 homes.
Despite these objections, and one tribunal member expressing concerns about the lack of information, the majority approved the application. The tribunal chairperson, Sydney Holden, stated that the data centers would promote Cape Town as a global innovation hub, create employment, and improve digital infrastructure. However, an Equinix spokesperson noted that while land had been purchased, a detailed site development plan, which would address many of the concerns, has not yet been submitted.
Equinix has already secured 174 MVA of electricity capacity by paying network charges and plans to fund a new electricity switching station. The company's approval is conditional on the submission and approval of a detailed site development plan addressing technical and infrastructural requirements. Critics, including Saadiyah Kwada from the Legal Resources Centre and Rosa Curling from Foxglove, maintain that the lack of upfront transparency from Equinix regarding resource consumption and environmental impact is a significant concern.
