Microsoft's $1 billion Kenya AI data center project hits a major hurdle as the government says it would require…
- Kenya says its electricity grid cannot sustain the proposed one-gigawatt Microsoft facility demand
- President Ruto warns powering the project would require nationwide electricity rationing measures
- The initial 100-megawatt phase already strains Olkaria geothermal output capacity
A proposed Microsoft 1-gigawatt data center in Kenya would demand so much electricity that the nation simply cannot supply that power.
Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-based G42 announced the project in May 2024 during President Ruto’s official visit to Washington DC, promising a geothermal-powered cloud region in the Olkaria area of Kenya’s Rift Valley region.
However Kenyan President William Ruto recently told a Nairobi audience that running this facility would force a terrible national choice.
Kenya goes dark if the data center comes up
“We would need to switch off half the country for the data center to be powered,” President Ruto said.
The stark reality is that Kenya lacks enough spare megawatts for this ambitious...
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