Kenya has marked a great milestone in its technology and sustainability efforts with the groundbreaking of the Olkaria EcoCloud Data Center yesterday. The ceremony which was held at the KenGen Smart Industrial Park in Naivasha was presided over by Prime Cabinet Secretary Hon. Musalia Mudavadi. It was graced by a host of other key government officials including Hon. Eliud Owalo, CS Ministry of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy, Hon. Tabitha Karanja, Senator, Nakuru, Hon. David Kones, Deputy Governor, Nakuru, Eng. John Tanui, PS State Department of ICT and Digital Economy and Hon. David Chirchir, CS for Energy and Petroleum among others.
The state-of-the-art EcoCloud Data Center is a first of its kind and will be powered 100% by renewable geothermal energy. This not only drastically reduces its carbon footprint but also sets a compelling example for the tech industry, showing that it is possible to meet the growing demands of data processing while prioritizing the wellbeing of the environment. It also goes further to fuel Kenya’s, and indeed the world’s efforts towards a sustainable future. Additional sustainability features in the Data Centre design include EV charging points, rainwater harvesting, minimal water usage and rooftop solar power generation.
“This project is very timely as it goes a long way to supporting government efforts of digitization, we need adequate data centres for secure storage as we make the progress towards a digital future for all government services and enhance digital literacy among our youth.”
Cabinet Secretary Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy Hon. Eliud Owalo.
The facility which is christened Project Eagle will be a major player in data exchange between Africa and the rest of the world, and a hub for innovation within the continent. It has attracted the interests of key players in the cloud sector including Amazon Web Services, Jamii Telecommunications, Google, Oracle, VMWare, and Microsoft who all had representatives at the event.
“As we embark on this momentous journey together, this endeavor underscores our commitment to embracing a technologically advanced and sustainable future in a responsible manner” Olkaria EcoCLOUD Data Centre CEO, Eng. Amos Siwoi
The data center will directly benefit from the 953 Megawatts of Geothermal Power Generation capacity at Olkaria and will be the first major investment at the newly created 845 acre KenGen Smart Industrial Park to fully utilize green, reliable and sustainable power. Given the increasing demand for internet, cloud services and digital services among other tech demands, the investment in efficient data centers is worthwhile and EcoCloud is a big leap towards this.