Data Center Atlas
G42 and Microsoft Olkaria geothermal data centre campus
Announced
Kenya · 1 project · Last reported
Summary
Planned geothermal-powered data centre campus at Olkaria, near Lake Naivasha in Kenya's Rift Valley, announced in May 2024 by G42 and Microsoft with Kenya's ICT ministry. G42 was to build it and it was to host a new Azure East Africa cloud region, with a 100 MW first phase and potential to grow to about 1 GW; press reports call it a USD 1 billion data centre. The May 2026 opening target was missed: in 2026 the project was reported stalled over power supply limits and unapproved funding, with KenGen saying it remained at design stage, while the government said it had not been abandoned.
Source record as of 2026-08-24 · Details and sources
Location
The interactive map needs JavaScript. Display anchor: -0.88574, 36.26999 (Point locator, WGS 84).
View location: OpenStreetMap · Google Maps · Bing aerial · Copernicus Browser
Town or locality reference only; the facility position is not established.
Projects (1)
G42 and Microsoft Olkaria geothermal data centre campus
Announced last observed as of · Reported status
Location: Olkaria (near Lake Naivasha), KE. Sources name Olkaria only. Coordinates are those given for the Olkaria geothermal area on its Wikipedia page, not a data centre parcel. Microsoft; Al Jazeera; Wikipedia
Use: Cloud, Ai unspecified
Capacity, investment and other figures
| Measure | Value | Scope | As of | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power capacity | 100 MW | Planned · Phase · Unspecified · First phase | 2024-05-22 | Gulf News | |
| Power capacity | up to 1,000 MW | Planned · Campus · Unspecified | 2026-08-24 | Potential eventual scale, first stated by G42's chief executive in May 2024. | Gulf News; Al Jazeera |
| Investment | 1,000,000,000 USD | Reported · Campus | 2026-05-23 | Gulf News, Semafor and Citizen Digital describe a USD 1 billion data centre. Microsoft's announcement and Al Jazeera instead frame USD 1 billion as a wider digital package in which the data centre is one part, so the figure may not be campus-specific. | Gulf News; Semafor; Citizen Digital |
Companies and organizations
| Name | Role | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| G42 | Developer | To design and build the campus with local partners and lead arranging the investment. | Microsoft; Gulf News |
| Microsoft | Operator | Microsoft and G42 were to design and operate a new Azure East Africa cloud region hosted at the campus. | Microsoft; Gulf News |
| Olkaria EcoCloud Data Centre | Developer | Described as a local partner in the G42-led development. | Al Jazeera |
| Kenya Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy | Government | Party to the 2024 letter of intent; the government planned to use the facility for public services. | Microsoft |
Timeline
| Date | Event | Actual or planned | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-22 | Announced | Actual | Microsoft; Gulf News | |
| 2026-05 | First operational | Planned | Original target of operation about two years after the 2024 announcement; it was missed. | Gulf News; Semafor |
| 2026-05 | Other | Actual | Al Jazeera reported that plans stalled in May 2026 over power capacity concerns; Semafor reported that the National Treasury had not approved funding and that ground had not been broken. No formal suspension was reported. | Semafor; Al Jazeera |
Power supply
| Type | Description | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Geothermal | The campus was planned to run entirely on renewable geothermal energy from the Olkaria area. | Microsoft; Gulf News; Al Jazeera |
Kept at announced: no source reports a formal halt or suspension. Semafor (May 2026) said the project was unlikely to go ahead and the National Treasury had not approved funding; Al Jazeera (August 2026) said plans stalled in May 2026 over power capacity, and KenGen, which operates the Olkaria geothermal complex, said it was still at design stage. Citizen Digital reported the government insisting it had not been abandoned and the technology envoy saying it was not suspended. President Ruto said it would need about 1,000 MW, roughly a third of national capacity. Microsoft presented USD 1 billion as an initial investment in a wider digital initiative.
Sources for these details
- Microsoft and G42 announce $1 billion comprehensive digital ecosystem initiative for Kenya — Microsoft; 2024-05-22 · Archived source
- Microsoft, UAE's G42 announce $1 billion geothermal data centre in Kenya — Gulf News; 2024-05-22
- Energy shortfall 'problem' scuppers Kenya's $1B Microsoft data center — Semafor; 2026-05-06
- Kenya's $1B Microsoft data centre project in limbo over power concerns — Citizen Digital; 2026-05-23
- Can Kenya's AI ambitions coexist with Naivasha's water needs? — Al Jazeera; 2026-08-24
- Olkaria — Wikipedia; publication date not stated
- Companies
- Developer: G42 (unknown scope) evidence
- Developer: G42 (unknown scope) evidence
- Operator: Microsoft (unknown scope) evidence
- Operator: Microsoft (unknown scope) evidence
- Developer: Olkaria EcoCloud Data Centre (unknown scope) evidence
- Government: Kenya Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy (unknown scope) evidence
Source and location review
- Status source
- Kenya's $1B Microsoft data centre project in limbo over power concerns evidence row
Citizen Digital · published 2026-05-23 · News - Locator
- Locality reference only · Compiled location reference · locality evidence
- Source checks
Not reviewed against imagery not_
reviewed
No imagery review is recorded for this project. Its status rests only on the dated authoritative source. · no independent imagery verificationStatus age at review: 64 days before the data update on 2026-10-27
Location details
- Coordinates
- -0.88574, 36.26999
- Geometry licence
- source-terms-not-recorded
- Use scope
- Locality reference only
- Scope class
- locality
- Authority
- Compiled location reference
- Source entity
- Project
- Method
- imported_reference_point
- Derivation
- imported_reference_point
- Precision scope
- Sources name Olkaria only. Coordinates are those given for the Olkaria geothermal area on its Wikipedia page, not a data centre parcel.
- Horizontal uncertainty
Not reported
The source record provides no measured horizontal uncertainty; original coordinate precision and note are preserved.
- Geometry evidence
- e8aa9f30
A locator places the site on the map. It is not a building footprint, a construction extent or a surveyed boundary unless the use scope is an official boundary, and even then it is a parcel or permit boundary.
Evidence
Sources are linked, not redistributed; each keeps its own terms. An archived copy is a lookup for the Wayback Machine capture nearest the retrieval date and may be unavailable or differ from what was reviewed. Each hash states what it covers; imported factual records are not publisher-page captures.
| Title | Publisher | Roles | Published | Retrieved | Licence | Attribution | Content hash (SHA-256) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can Kenya's AI ambitions coexist with Naivasha's water needs? Archived copy | Al Jazeera News | Imported: Geometry, Imported: Record, Imported: Status, Metric: Power Capacity, Milestone: Other, Power Source: Geothermal, Role: Developer | source-terms-not-recorded | Al Jazeera | 7ccf456dddbaa0e1689f266437fd0ef7e4bbadd5458e5fc44e71cd0cd49c94bfFactual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Energy shortfall 'problem' scuppers Kenya's $1B Microsoft data center Archived copy | Semafor News | Imported: Record, Metric: Investment, Milestone: First Operational, Milestone: Other | source-terms-not-recorded | Semafor | 98a1ede9ad39348948a576d0582aa529637f79fa91471c1a4790f1e94508182aFactual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Kenya's $1B Microsoft data centre project in limbo over power concerns Archived copy | Citizen Digital News | Imported: Record, Imported: Status, Metric: Investment | source-terms-not-recorded | Citizen Digital | c0b9dd2aad847d27af4075f0e429ee65c642c6e01b7dcba22267b8855b77e77bFactual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Microsoft and G42 announce $1 billion comprehensive digital ecosystem initiative for Kenya Archived copy | Microsoft Company disclosure | Imported: Geometry, Imported: Record, Milestone: Announced, Power Source: Geothermal, Role: Developer, Role: Government, Operator claim | source-terms-not-recorded | Microsoft | 045b24b7a2933b1dac1cd82e55444af3bcae30c491f419432d68e02f8627aec4Factual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Microsoft, UAE's G42 announce $1 billion geothermal data centre in Kenya Archived copy | Gulf News News | Imported: Record, Metric: Investment, Metric: Power Capacity, Milestone: Announced, Milestone: First Operational, Power Source: Geothermal, Role: Developer, Operator claim | source-terms-not-recorded | Gulf News | 148d2cf13ca5baf892bf0584f5e7f401c51ec0f1b14ff2287a3a37d6188a2444Factual source record; not the publisher page | ||
| Olkaria Archived copy | Wikipedia Other | Imported: Geometry, Imported: Record | not stated | source-terms-not-recorded | Wikipedia | 09cfc7f504c25aa16930de4bbd5de06c6e312fd15065a19b61a8abba3788fa43Factual source record; not the publisher page |
Cite this site
Kyars, K. (2026). G42 and Microsoft Olkaria geothermal data centre campus [site vcc-site-e7f4d963829eac6090a7]. In Data Center Atlas (2026-10-27) [Data set]. https://kiankyars.github.io/datacenter-atlas/sites/vcc-site-e7f4d963829eac6090a7/
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