President
William Ruto has witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding
between Kenya and the United Arab Emirates that will see the development in the
country of the first-ever data centre powered by geothermal energy.
The
agreement between Kenya’s EcoCloud and UAE’s G42 will see the construction of a
1GW mega data centre, thus propelling Kenya’s digital economy to greater
heights.
“By
harnessing geothermal energy, we are not only meeting the region’s data needs
but also setting a new standard for eco-friendly infrastructure,” said Amos
Siwoi, CEO of EcoCloud.
UAE
Ambassador to Kenya Salim Ibrahim Binahmed Mohamed Alnaqbi also witnessed the
signing ceremony at State House, Nairobi.
“This
geothermal-powered data centre is a milestone towards realising Kenya’s
potential as a global digital hub and fulfilling our mission of making
intelligence accessible to everyone, everywhere,” said Peng Xiao, Group CEO of
G42.
EcoCloud
is a leading provider of data centre solutions, while G42 is a global leader in
creating visionary artificial intelligence.
The
project hopes to use Kenya’s vast untapped geothermal potential by putting up
an initial 100MW facility, which will be scaled up over the years.
At
full capacity, the facility will reduce Kenya’s dependency on fossil fuel, cut
carbon emissions and contribute towards environmental conservation.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye