Two planned Equinix data centres near Cape Town International Airport could require a combined 174MW of electricity, equivalent to the power needed for roughly 130,000 homes.
The City of Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal has approved land-use changes paving the way for the hyperscale facilities at King Air Industria, despite objections over their potential electricity, water and environmental impacts.
The proposed developments would cover more than 120,000m², with estimates presented during the planning process putting their combined electricity demand at around 174MW.
Cape Town’s tribunal approved the application by four votes to one, but the decision might still face a legal challenge after the Legal Resources Centre said it was considering an appeal.
How much electricity could the Cape Town data centres use?
The two proposed Equinix facilities could require around 174MW of electricity combined.
That is enough to power approximately 130,000 homes.
Large data centres require substantial and highly reliable electricity supplies, putting grid capacity under greater scrutiny as South Africa attracts investment in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.
The scale of the proposed facilities has become a central concern for groups opposing the developments.
Why are groups opposing the Equinix data centres?
Objectors represented by the Legal Resources Centre argued that the applications did not provide sufficient detail about electricity demand, water consumption, backup generation and associated environmental effects.
They also questioned the by-law definition of a data centre used to justify the approval.
According to the objectors, the definition was created through a 2025 amendment after the original application had already been submitted.
Water consumption was another major point of contention during the planning process.
Could the data centres use billions of litres of water?
Research presented by the Legal Resources Centre at the hearing estimated that data centres using conventional cooling consume around 25.5 million litres of water per megawatt each year.
Applied to a combined 174MW, that would amount to roughly 4.4 billion litres annually.
Equinix rejected those concerns.
The company said the proposed facilities would use dry, air-based cooling systems, with no material operational water consumption beyond domestic and ancillary uses.
The differing positions put the proposed centres’ infrastructure requirements at the heart of the dispute.
Cape Town tribunal approves plans four votes to one
Despite the objections, Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal approved the application by four votes to one.
The majority found that more detailed questions surrounding resources and design could be dealt with during the subsequent site development plan.
The decision was accompanied by protests outside Cape Town’s Civic Centre organised by the Housing Assembly.
Campaigners described the action as one of South Africa’s first demonstrations focused specifically on the environmental and social impact of hyperscale data centres.
Could the Equinix development still face an appeal?
The planning approval does not necessarily mark the end of the dispute.
Shortly after the tribunal’s decision, the Legal Resources Centre said it was considering an appeal.
That means the approval could still face a legal challenge.
The debate also raises a broader question as South Africa’s digital infrastructure expands.
Data centres bring capital investment and support digital services used by businesses, while hyperscale facilities also require significant physical infrastructure.
With the two proposed Cape Town facilities potentially requiring a combined 174MW of electricity, the scale of those infrastructure requirements is now firmly under scrutiny.
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