Australian-based energy firm Tlou Energy has signed an agreement to build a data center at its gas production site in Lesedi, Botswana.
Under the non-binding agreement between Tlou Energy and an unnamed data center developer, the site will receive a “high-density computational facility.”
Specifications of the data center have not been disclosed.
Tlou Energy will generate the required electricity from its gas production pods. A proof of concept has been completed.
The data center developer will provide the funding for additional gas wells to scale up production in anticipation of the data center and Tlou’s 10MW gas-to-power project. This was launched last year and aims to develop 10MW of coal bed methane (CBM) gas-fired power. The process extracts methane gas that has been adsorbed to underground coal.
The project plans on expanding to 25MW in the coming years.
Tlou Energy said the data center can take gas-generated electricity in smaller tranches than a more conventional power station, meaning that flared gas during the dewatering process can be used to generate revenue.
The company intends to continue supplying electricity to Botswana Power Corporation under its existing Power Purchase Agreement.
Tlou Energy is developing energy solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa through gas-fired power and ancillary projects. Its Lesedi project is the company’s largest project.
Botswana does not have an established data center market, with only local operators Nashua Nest and Digital Delta having a presence in the capital city of Gaborone. The latter was provided by the Chinese firm China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation. Telco Orange launched a facility in the capital in late 2023.
