A proposed Microsoft-G42 data-centre campus in Olkaria, near Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, remains uncertain after the project stalled in May 2026 over concerns about available power capacity. The facility’s water demand has not been disclosed, leaving communities and conservation groups concerned about additional pressure on an already stressed water system.
Microsoft and United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence company G42 announced the project in 2024 as part of a $1bn digital investment package for Kenya. The campus was planned to use geothermal energy and eventually reach as much as 1 gigawatt of capacity.
What is known about the proposed facility
Microsoft and G42 said the campus would run entirely on renewable geothermal energy and use water-conservation technology. However, their 2024 announcement did not include a project-specific water-consumption figure.
KenGen communications director Frank David Ochieng said the data centre remains at the design stage and that he could not comment further until the project is ready to proceed. Olkaria EcoCloud Data Centre is the local partner in the G42-led development.
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Why Lake Naivasha communities are concerned
Lake Naivasha’s catchment supports agriculture, tourism, livestock and domestic water use, alongside geothermal development and other economic activity. Residents around Olkaria report shortages, including less reliable piped supplies, and say some households now rely on water vendors while livestock travel long distances for water.
Grace Kimani of Lake Naivasha and Oloiden said population growth, agriculture, water abstraction, climate variability, pollution and ecosystem degradation are increasing pressure on the reservoir. She said the data centre could add to competing demands, particularly during dry periods, and called for disclosure of its water source and cooling technology, cumulative-impact assessment, recycling and treated wastewater use.
Existing water use and the unanswered questions
A KenGen environmental and social impact assessment recorded 195,165 cubic metres of water abstracted from Lake Naivasha in July 2023 for domestic and commercial uses at Olkaria and operations and domestic use at Eburru. Commercial operations at Olkaria accounted for 153,918 cubic metres. The assessment said the abstraction was within Water Resources Authority permitted levels; these figures describe existing KenGen operations, not the proposed data centre.
The Food and Agriculture Organization says Kenya has about 527 cubic metres of freshwater available per person, below its 1,000-cubic-metre water-scarcity threshold, and estimates that figure could fall to about 475 cubic metres by 2030. The proposed facility’s eventual scale, design, water source and consumption remain unclear. Kenya’s Water Resources Authority regulates abstraction and permits, while the National Environment Management Authority oversees environmental impact assessments.
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