Gas Flaring Opportunities in Africa
During a time when Europe faces an energy supply crisis and the developing world seeks to stimulate economic growth through widescale electrification, SustainPower remains on the forefront of providing innovative solutions to Sub-Saharan Africa. As a company, we continually look to redefine the way in which developing economies are powered, seeking to displace diesel and coal wherever we can. But the consumption of these fossil fuels are not the only contributors to climate change. Wasted energy can be just as detrimental to the environment.
As gas to power specialists, the SustainPower team is particularly interested in excess energy that is not utilized through flaring. From gas alone, 150 billion cubic meters is wasted through flaring each year, which has a significant impact on the planet. It is often lack of financial incentive that leaves power-production sites without the costly infrastructure that is needed to capture and utilize excess energy. This is particularly pertinent to the African continent.
Thankfully, we have found tremendous synergies with likeminded energy experts at Norwegian-based company, Earth Wind & Power. EWP converts excess energy from different resources to computing power by positioning mobile data centre containers and infrastructure at power production sites. They offer oil and gas companies who are flaring gas today, an opportunity to become greener. By capturing the energy from flare gas and using it to power HPC operations on site, they substantially reduce the oil and gas company’s methane emissions. Methane is a greenhouse gas that has a harsher impact on the environment than CO2, so such an opportunity is one that we could not pass up.
As a proudly South African packager from our Cape Town warehouse, SustainPower takes the scope of containerization in this relationship, whilst making use of American-made engines. For EWP and their clients, our packaged solutions translate to mobile, modular, and scalable units. The goal is to reach 2 GW of data center operational capacity within the next 5 years, across four continents, starting with Africa. Given the interest already generated by numerous potential offtakers, such a target seems well within reach.
Indeed, the story of Earth Wind and Power is one of far more than just a fantastic concept; it is backed by a board and management team that comprises of successful entrepreneurs, datacenter and technology experts and investment professionals in a wide range of sectors. The company benefits from the successful track record and international network of the founders and their extensive experience in establishing significant organizations in the energy sector.
SustainPower and EWP recently exhibited at the African Energy Week (AEW) in Cape Town, allowing us to showcase our unique solution to some of the continent’s most influential energy stakeholders. One of the goals of AEW is to promote Africa as a desirable destination for development and investment, and the SustainPower/EWP relationship was the personification of what can be achieved when African and European entities unite behind the common values of sustainability and economic prosperity for Africa and Africans.
