Greek Firm Proposes Off-Grid AI Data Center for Mombasa, Addressing Kenya's Power Challenges

Amaco Energy Group, a Greek multinational, has unveiled plans to construct a $1.5 billion AI data center in Mombasa, Kenya. This ambitious project aims to operate entirely off Kenya's national electricity grid, a design choice specifically intended to bypass the power supply issues that have hindered other large-scale data center initiatives in the country, notably the stalled Microsoft and G42 project in Olkaria.

The proposed facility would utilize an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered electricity system, dubbed Hercules, which integrates power generation and cooling. This self-contained energy solution is significant because it would not only meet the data center's substantial power demands but could also potentially contribute surplus electricity to Kenya's national grid, thereby inverting the typical challenge of data centers competing for scarce power resources.

Kenya is actively seeking to expand its AI infrastructure, with current capacity significantly lagging behind global and even continental averages. The country currently hosts only two AI-capable data centers, highlighting a critical gap in compute resources essential for advancing AI research and deployment across Africa. This proposal, if realized, could substantially boost Kenya's standing as a hub for AI development.

However, critical details such as the data center's exact power capacity, construction timeline, and financing specifics remain undisclosed. Furthermore, the article raises questions about the project's water requirements for cooling, a pertinent issue in coastal Mombasa, and notes Amaco's past dealings with Kenyan state entities that drew parliamentary scrutiny. Despite these unknowns, the innovative off-grid approach offers a potential pathway for large-scale AI infrastructure development in regions with constrained power grids.