US energy company plots 1.2GW hydropower plant and AI data center in Lesotho - report

An AI data center could be coming to Lesotho.

In what could become the largest foreign investment in the south African country, US energy company Convalt Energy signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lesotho’s Ministry of Energy to develop a 1.2GW hydropower project and an integrated AI data center.

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First reported by Business Insider, the Kobong Hydropower and AI Data Centre Project would cost an estimated 98 billion Maloti ($5.92bn) to construct. The project is being planned in the Kobong region of eastern Lesotho, the country’s most mountainous region. According to reports, Convalt is expected to launch and fund the mandatory feasibility studies on the project. If successful, the project is expected to enter its construction phase starting in 2029.

If constructed, the project would generate more than ten times the country’s current generation capacity. This could have major implications for a country that currently imports much of its energy from neighboring South Africa.