Microsoft's massive Kenya AI data center would require switching off 'half the country' to meet power requirements, government says — $1 billion project stalls over capacity disagreements and lack of infrastructure

A $1 billion Microsoft and G42 AI data center project in Kenya has stalled due to disagreements over power capacity payments with the government. Kenyan President William Ruto highlighted the massive power requirements of the project, suggesting it would need to "switch off half the country" to operate. The facility, intended to run on geothermal power in the Olkaria region, aimed for 100 megawatts initially, scaling to 1 gigawatt. Talks are ongoing, but the project's scale poses significant challenges given Kenya's limited electricity capacity. Microsoft's global data center expansion faces similar power constraints, with many U.S. projects delayed or canceled due to electrical infrastructure shortages.