An African state is lighting up its AI future with a deal to install thousands of smart streetlamps that will also serve to provide compute capabilities by forming a distributed data centre.
The government of Katsina state in Nigeria has signed a deal for the installation 50,000 solar-powered smart streetlamps that double up as processing units for the revenue-generating facility.
Greentech firm Conflow Power Group (CPG), and its Nigerian partner Mora Energy will install 50,000 solar-powered iLamps, making the state the first in Africa to host such distributed AI compute facilities.
Edward Fitzpatrick, CPG’s chief executive, said: “This agreement is a defining moment for how the world thinks about AI infrastructure, and we are proud that Katsina is the first Nigerian state to complete this process with us. Every ministry asked the right questions and satisfied itself across land use, highway regulation, data protection and security before writing to the Governor.
“By contrast with traditional data centre models, which typically require 300MW of grid power, millions of litres of cooling water and years of construction, Katsina’s 13.75 PetaOPS arrives on an iLamp post powered by the sun, operational from day one. As the first to cross the line, CPG will locate its first factory in Katsina and create Nigeria’s first Green Utility.”
The deployment of the iLamps takes Katsina beyond the smart city concept to deliver intelligent infrastructure across an entire state. Each iLamp in addition to selling AI compute, can also be configured with AI-enabled cameras and monitoring systems, supporting applications such as public safety, traffic management and infrastructure protection, subject to local regulation and data governance frameworks.
Each unit can also provide public WiFi, Bluetooth connectivity and high-efficiency LED lighting – all solar-powered, with no additional operational cost to the state.
The agreement arrives as large-scale AI data centres face a fierce backlash across the United States, where several states have introduced moratoriums on their construction over the vast quantities of electricity and water they consume. CPG says every iLamp is entirely solar-powered, draws nothing from the national grid and requires no water cooling whatsoever.
Smart infrastructure
The agreement follows a multi-stage due diligence and regulatory review process required for public-private partnerships of this scale in Nigeria. The milestone represents a significant step forward for Nigeria’s smart infrastructure agenda and for CPG’s strategic expansion across the African continent.
Over the past five months, CPG and Mora Energy executives, led by Stanley Chuka-Umeora, Anthony Chuka-Umeora and Labo Muhammad Mahuta have been engaged in parallel negotiations with seven Nigerian state governments and a number of key university campuses, private companies and religious campuses regarding large-scale iLamp deployments.
Stanley Chuka-Umeora, founder of Mora Energy, said: “The groundwork to get here was extensive, but now the real work begins. We will install a state-of-the-art streetlight network that makes our streets safer, brings AI into local communities and positions Nigeria as a major player in global AI compute. We are proud of our whole team and look forward to what comes next.”
Once all agreements currently under negotiation are executed, CPG says the combined programme will exceed 300,000 iLamp units across federal, state and institutional installations – establishing the largest distributed autonomous lighting and AI compute networks ever contemplated in Africa.
In parallel, the company says its team remains “actively engaged” in ongoing negotiations regarding the planned deployment of iLamp technology along Nigeria’s 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway – a project of national strategic importance. This transaction is seen as a stepping stone towards a full agreement.
Dr Hafiz Ibrahim Ahmad, special adviser on power and energy, Katsina State, said: “Today, Katsina becomes the premier state in Nigeria for data centre capability, home to the only distributed AI data centre of its kind anywhere on the African continent.
“Every lamp installed, every unit of computing power, every naira of revenue is fully auditable. For the people of Katsina, the benefits are transformational. This means safer streets, real-time crime and terrorism prevention, free public internet and a revenue stream that flows back into the state. We are more ready than ever to accommodate anyone coming to Katsina to invest in our great state.”
Main image: iLamps on the streets of Casablanca, Morocco. Credit: Conflow Power Group
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