Botswana: TLOU Energy To Build Gaspowered Data Center At Lesedi Project

Australian-based energy firm, Tlou Energy, has signed an agreement to build a data center at its gas production site in Lesedi, Botswana. The facility will be powered by gas-generated
electricity from Tlou’s coal bed methane (CBM) production.

Under the non-binding agreement with an unnamed data center developer, the Lesedi site will host a “highdensity computational facility.” While specific technical details have not been disclosed, Tlou Energy confirmed that a proof of concept has been completed.

The data center developer will fund additional gas wells to scale up production in anticipation of both the data center and Tlou’s 10MW gasto-power project, which was launched last year. The project, which extracts methane gas  from underground coal, aims to expand to 25MW in the coming years.

The Lesedi Power Project is situated in Botswana’s Central District, approximately
100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Serowe. This location provides direct access
to Botswana’s national power grid and the Southern African Power Pool, making it a prime site for energy distribution.

Tlou Energy stated that the data center will have the capability to take gas-generated electricity in smaller tranches than a traditional power station. This means flared gas from the dewatering process can be utilized to generate revenue instead of being wasted.

Botswana currently has a small data center market, with only local operators Nashua Nest
and Digital Delta present in the capital, Gaborone.

The latter facility was developed by the Chinese firm China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation. In late 2023, telecom provider Orange also launched a data center in Gaborone.

Despite the country’s limited data center infrastructure, Tlou Energy’s project signals a shift toward integrating energy solutions with digital infrastructure, further positioning Botswana as a growing player in Africa’s energy and technology sectors.

Source: Tuesday Grill