UK firm pioneers data centres using lampposts in Nigeria

In a bid to revolutionize the way data centres are powered and located, a UK-based company is turning to an unlikely source: lampposts. Conflow Power Group Limited (CPG), a Warwickshire-based firm, has signed a formal agreement with a Nigerian state to deploy 50,000 of its solar-powered iLamp units, which can be networked together to form a distributed AI data centre. Each iLamp has batteries charged by a cylindrical solar panel, which supplies energy to a low-powered computer suitable for AI tasks.

The iLamps use a small chip created by NVIDIA, which can be powered by just 15 watts of power, making it possible to run on solar energy. According to CPG chairman Edward Fitzpatrick, the plan is that scaled across thousands of units, a network of iLamps would deliver the collective processing power of a data centre with the environmental benefit of not drawing energy from the grid. The lampposts can also operate as AI-powered surveillance cameras, capable of detecting parking violations, speeding vehicles, and seatbelt non-compliance.

However, some experts have expressed concerns that the tech isn't a substitute for the powerful data centres needed to run the toughest AI tasks. Prof Ian Bitterlin, a data centre industry veteran, noted that the physical security of the streetlights would be a concern, as the valuable computer chip inside could be a target for thieves. Fitzpatrick accepts this risk, but notes that the posts are designed so the chip would be "fried" if removed.

The iLamps will be built in Morocco, Taiwan, and Latvia, but an assembly factory is also being built in Katsina, the Nigerian state taking the devices. Under CPG's plan, income from renting out the processing power of the iLamps to AI companies will go to investors in a green bond that will fund the installation and maintenance of the streetlights. Katsina will earn revenue from fines for speeding and traffic violations spotted by the lamppost cameras, with CPG taking a 20% cut after three years.