Can Kenya’s AI ambitions coexist with Naivasha’s water needs?
Kenya's push to become an AI and data center hub faces local opposition due to concerns over water scarcity in the Naivasha region. Residents fear that industrial projects like the proposed Microsoft-G42 data center will exacerbate existing water shortages.
Why it matters
The conflict illustrates the tension between the global demand for AI infrastructure and the local environmental and resource needs of developing nations.
As Kenya courts data-centre investment, communities fear growing pressure on an already stressed water system.
x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info An aerial view of the Olkaria geothermal fields near Naivasha, Kenya [Hafsa Abdiwahab Sheikh/Al Jazeera] By Hafsa Abdiwahab Sheikh Published On 24 Aug 2026 24 Aug 2026 Naivasha, Kenya – For communities living around Naivasha, water is not an abstract resource. It sustains families, livestock, farms and schools.
That reality has taken on new significance after plans for a major Microsoft-G42 data centre in Olkaria, near Lake Naivasha, stalled in May 2026 over concerns about available power capacity.
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 proposed facility was to run on geothermal energy and eventually scale to as much as 1 gigawatt of capacity.
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