Olkaria
Geothermal field in Kenya's Rift Valley and site of the suspended $1 billion Microsoft-G42 data-centre project; full 1 GW build would equal one-third of Kenya's total installed generation capacity.
Last refreshed: 10 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Kenya's geothermal grid ever support a 1 GW hyperscale campus without displacing its existing electricity users?
Timeline for Olkaria
Remained suspended at the 1 GW threshold that would draw a third of Kenya's installed capacity
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Kenya halts $1bn Olkaria over power- Why was the Microsoft data centre at Olkaria Kenya suspended?
- Kenya's government suspended the $1 billion Microsoft-G42 geothermal campus at Olkaria in May 2026 because its full 1 GW target would draw a third of Kenya's entire installed generation capacity of approximately 3 GW, a load the National Grid could not absorb without displacing existing users.Source: Kenyan government statement
- Where is the Olkaria geothermal field in Kenya?
- Olkaria is in Kenya's Rift Valley, near Naivasha, southwest of Nairobi. It is operated by KenGen and produces approximately 800 MW of installed geothermal capacity.Source: KenGen / geothermal data
- How much of Kenya's electricity does the Olkaria campus need?
- The full 1 GW Microsoft-G42 campus target would require approximately a third of Kenya's installed generation capacity of roughly 3 GW, according to government officials. President Ruto said it would mean switching off half the country.Source: Kenyan government / President Ruto statement
Background
Olkaria is Kenya's primary geothermal field, located in the Rift Valley southwest of Nairobi near the town of Naivasha. It is operated by KenGen (Kenya Electricity Generating Company) and currently produces approximately 800 MW of installed geothermal capacity, making it one of Africa's largest geothermal complexes and a significant share of Kenya's total installed generation of roughly 3 GW. The field was designated the site of a $1 billion Microsoft-G42 data-centre campus, a project suspended by Kenya's government in early May 2026 when it became apparent that the full 1 GW target would draw a third of the country's entire installed generation capacity, a load concentration that no grid authority could sanction without displacing existing users.
The Olkaria field's appeal for data-centre siting was its combination of firm, non-intermittent geothermal power (unlike solar or wind, geothermal runs at high capacity factors year-round) and proximity to subsea cable landing stations on the Kenyan coast, providing Onward connectivity to Europe and the Gulf. Microsoft and G42 had positioned Olkaria as a proof-of-concept for African sovereign cloud infrastructure anchored on indigenous clean energy.
The suspension illustrates the structural problem of matching hyperscale compute demand with developing-nation energy supply. Kenya's aggregate installed capacity is comparable to a single mid-size US state; a 1 GW campus would instantly become the country's largest single electricity consumer by a large margin. President Ruto's characterisation (that the full build would require switching off half the country) is politically charged but mathematically grounded.