Amaco's offshore AI data centre proposal puts Kenya's digital and energy ambitions to the test
Greek multinational Amaco Energy Group is planning a $1.5 billion (about Sh194 billion) artificial intelligence data centre in Mombasa, with an energy model designed to operate independently of Kenya’s national electricity grid.
The proposal combines large-scale AI computing infrastructure with an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered platform that integrates electricity generation and cooling into a single floating installation. If approved, it would represent one of Kenya’s most unconventional digital infrastructure projects, testing whether the country can attract hyperscale AI investment without placing additional pressure on its electricity network.
Amaco CEO Theodore Theodoropoulos has been in Nairobi holding discussions with government officials as the company seeks approval for the project. The investment remains at the proposal stage, with the company yet to disclose the facility’s final computing capacity, construction timeline, site footprint or land acquisition details.
At the centre of Amaco’s proposal is its Hercules platform, a floating offshore concept that combines an AI data centre with LNG-powered electricity generation and integrated cooling infrastructure.
Instead of constructing a conventional land-based power plant, the company says the model is designed around offshore energy infrastructure capable of supplying continuous power directly to AI computing workloads. The concept is intended to operate independently of Kenya’s national grid, addressing one of the biggest constraints facing large-scale AI infrastructure worldwide: reliable, uninterrupted electricity.
Amaco has also said the system could potentially produce surplus electricity that could be supplied to Kenya’s wider power network. However, that remains part of the company’s proposed model and should not be treated as confirmed additional power capacity for Kenya.
The proposal arrives as Kenya races to expand AI-capable infrastructure across a region where computing capacity remains limited.
According to Data Centre Map, Kenya currently has two AI-capable data centres, compared with five in South Africa and one in Nigeria, highlighting the country’s efforts to close a regional infrastructure gap as demand for cloud computing, fintech and AI services continues to grow.
That investment wave is already taking shape. Airtel’s Nxtra is developing a 44MW AI-ready data centre at Tatu City with dedicated power infrastructure and on-site solar support, while IX Africa continues expanding hyperscale-ready capacity for enterprise customers.
Amaco’s proposal stands apart because it attempts to remove grid dependence from the equation altogether.
While the off-grid model could reduce pressure on Kenya’s electricity network, its reliance on LNG introduces another policy debate.
Kenya generates the vast majority of its electricity from renewable sources, particularly geothermal, hydro and wind, making it one of Africa’s cleanest electricity systems. An LNG-powered AI facility would therefore represent a different path for supporting energy-intensive digital infrastructure.
The project highlights a growing tension facing many countries: expanding the infrastructure needed for AI while ensuring that the energy powering that growth remains reliable and increasingly aligned with long-term climate goals.
Amaco’s offshore approach has already sparked debate among energy and infrastructure professionals because it differs significantly from conventional data-centre projects.
Some observers question whether combining a hyperscale AI facility with dedicated offshore LNG generation creates a commercially viable investment at the announced scale. Others argue that AI infrastructure increasingly justifies dedicated energy investments as computing demand accelerates globally, pointing to a wider international trend of pairing data centres with their own power sources.
The discussion has also broadened beyond electricity. Questions have emerged about how much local employment, infrastructure investment and long-term economic value an independently powered offshore facility would ultimately create for Kenya, particularly if much of the supporting infrastructure remains self-contained.
Those questions remain unresolved because the project is still in exploratory discussions with the Kenyan government, and key commercial and technical details have yet to be disclosed.
Amaco’s proposal arrives as Kenya weighs how to support increasingly power-intensive digital infrastructure.
Microsoft and UAE-based AI company G42 have separately pursued a $1 billion data-centre project in Olkaria, Nakuru County. That project has faced delays after discussions around power requirements and commercial development terms became more complex.
The facility was initially associated with a 60-megawatt power requirement before broader regional ambitions increased discussions around substantially larger electricity demand. The earlier project exposed another reality: attracting hyperscale AI infrastructure depends on more than electricity generation alone. High-capacity transmission, redundant fibre networks, cooling infrastructure and sustained enterprise demand all influence whether facilities can operate at scale.
Against that backdrop, Amaco’s offshore model appears designed to sidestep one of Kenya’s biggest infrastructure constraints by generating power independently.
Mombasa offers another major advantage beyond power: connectivity.
The coastal city serves as East Africa’s primary gateway for international submarine fibre-optic cables linking the region with Europe, the Middle East and Asia. That connectivity has made the Mombasa-Nairobi corridor increasingly important for cloud providers, telecom operators and content delivery networks over the past several years.
Reliable international bandwidth is essential for AI workloads, cloud services and large-scale data processing, making the city a natural location for regional computing infrastructure.
The Mombasa project builds on Amaco’s earlier interest in LNG infrastructure.
In 2024, the company registered an LNG-to-power and natural gas transmission proposal for Mombasa. That strategy has since evolved into an AI-focused infrastructure initiative, with Amaco also outlining plans to develop offshore energy infrastructure for AI data centres across the Middle East, East Africa and Europe.
For Kenya, the proposed Sh194 billion investment is about more than another data centre.
The project raises a broader question about what kind of AI infrastructure creates lasting value. As countries compete to attract hyperscale computing facilities, the challenge is no longer simply hosting servers. It is deciding how those investments connect to local energy systems, digital infrastructure and long-term economic development.
Whether Amaco’s floating LNG-powered model ultimately moves beyond the proposal stage will depend on government approvals, commercial viability and technical execution. Regardless of the outcome, the discussions around Hercules have already highlighted a new phase in Kenya’s AI infrastructure ambitions, one where power has become just as important as computing itself.
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