For pastoralists and residents around Lake Naivasha, water is an increasingly scarce lifeline. Now, an ambitious push to transform Kenya into an African artificial intelligence hub has sparked intense debate over whether the region's fragile water resources can withstand the demands of massive tech infrastructure.
Plans for a flagship data center in Olkaria—proposed jointly by Microsoft and United Arab Emirates-based AI firm G42—stalled in May 2026 amid concerns over power grid capacity. First unveiled in 2024 as part of a $1 billion digital investment package, the facility was designed to utilize geothermal energy and eventually scale up to 1 gigawatt of capacity. However, the hiatus has amplified scrutiny regarding the project's potential environmental footprint, particularly its water consumption in an area already suffering from shortages.
Local residents and environmental groups are voicing growing unease over additional industrial draw on the Lake Naivasha basin. The lake's catchment supports vital agriculture, livestock, tourism, and household needs. Residents report that local communities have already lost access to reliable piped water, forcing families to rely on water vendors while livestock travel long distances in search of hydration. Environmental experts warn that Lake Naivasha nearly dried up in 2010 due to over-abstraction and caution that intense cooling requirements for data centers could aggravate ecological stress.
The controversy unfolds against a broader national water crisis. Figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicate that Kenya provides approximately 527 cubic meters of freshwater per person annually—far below the international water scarcity benchmark of 1,000 cubic meters. Although developers state the Olkaria campus will adopt water-efficient designs and renewable power, local conservationists are demanding full transparency, comprehensive impact evaluations, and sustainable abstraction limits before industrial development resumes.