Can Kenya’s AI ambitions coexist with Naivasha’s water needs? | Energy
Microsoft-G42 Data Center Plans Raise Water Concerns in Naivasha, Kenya
NAIVASHA, Kenya – For local communities, water is an essential resource that supports families, livestock, farms, and schools. This necessity has taken on new urgency following a delay in the construction of a major data center by Microsoft and G42, an artificial intelligence company based in the United Arab Emirates. The project, located in Olkaria, near Lake Naivasha, was halted in May 2026 due to concerns about power capacity.
The data center project was first announced in 2024 as part of a broader $1 billion digital investment initiative in Kenya. It was expected to utilize geothermal energy and ultimately operate with up to 1 gigawatt of capacity.
As discussions surrounding the project continue, residents are increasingly worried about how a large industrial water user might impact the already strained water resources in the region. Microsoft and G42 indicated that their proposed facility would rely solely on renewable geothermal energy and implement water conservation technologies but did not provide specific figures regarding water consumption in their initial announcement.
Frank David Ochieng, communications director at Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), stated that the data center remains in the design phase and declined to offer further comments until the project is ready to advance.
Musa Olorkedienye, a local resident, expressed his concerns about the current scarcity of water, mentioning that communities around Olkaria are experiencing reduced access. He noted that residents now depend on water vendors and that livestock must travel long distances to find water. “We fear things could get worse as demand for water rises,” he stated.
Pastoralist Isaac Leshishi echoed Olorkedienye’s sentiments, attributing increased pressure on water supplies to severe weather changes.
The choice of Olkaria for the data center is primarily driven by the area’s geothermal energy resources, which are among the largest in Kenya. KenGen operates the Olkaria geothermal complex and had planned for the facility to be powered entirely by geothermal energy.
Lake Naivasha’s Challenges
Lake Naivasha, located in Kenya’s Rift Valley, is a vital freshwater resource supporting agriculture, tourism, and domestic water supply. The lake’s ecosystem, however, is facing mounting pressures from population growth, agricultural runoff, and climate variability, as noted by Grace Kimani, a patrol leader with Lake Naivasha and Oloiden.
“The planned Microsoft-G42 data center could bring jobs and investment, but its water demand raises concerns about adding more strain to already competing needs, especially during dry seasons,” Kimani said. She emphasized the need for more information regarding the project’s expected water demand and called for transparency and assessments of its cumulative impacts.
Silas Wanjala of the Lake Naivasha Riparian Association highlighted the region’s dependency on groundwater and the frustrations stemming from decreasing water flows. He warned that industries like the proposed data center could exacerbate water scarcity issues in an area that has experienced significant fluctuations in lake levels in the past.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that Kenya has about 527 cubic meters of freshwater available per person, which is below the threshold for water scarcity and is projected to decline to approximately 475 cubic meters per person by 2030.
The specific water needs of the proposed Microsoft-G42 facility are still ambiguous. While KenGen’s environmental impact assessment revealed that 195,165 cubic meters were extracted from Lake Naivasha for various uses in July 2023, this figure pertains to existing operations and does not account for the potential impact of the new data center.
Residents, including local farmer Eskimos Kobia, voice concerns that competition for water will intensify, complicating access not just for households and livestock, but also for agriculture and education.
Balancing Investment and Local Needs
While not all residents oppose the investment, concerns remain about the potential impacts on local water resources. Absolom Mukhuusi of the Naivasha Professional Association acknowledged the potential for job creation and improved infrastructure but stressed the importance of protecting community interests and water bodies.
Geologist Kenyatta Otieno suggested a possible upside to the investment, recalling that past heavy water usage by industries has since diminished. He emphasized that the proposed center could include resources for monitoring lake levels and weather patterns, aiding in the sustainable management of water resources.
The regulatory framework in Kenya, which includes the Water Resources Authority and the National Environment Management Authority, oversees the management of water use. However, attempts to obtain comments from officials from these agencies and Microsoft-G42 regarding the status of the project and its water requirements were unsuccessful.
As it stands, the future scope, design, and water needs of the proposed data center remain uncertain. “We are now competing with multibillion-dollar companies for water, and we fear that we shall be the losers in the long run,” Leshishi said.
