Kazakhstan is building a massive data center complex called "Data Center Valley" in Ekibastouz, a town in the Pavlodar region. The project is intended to support artificial intelligence (AI) development and is expected to use up to 9 terawatt-hours of electricity annually. For context, a terawatt-hour is a unit of energy equivalent to the output of 1,000 power plants operating for one hour. This energy demand is extremely high, and to meet it, the government is relying on the Bogatyr mine, one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world. The mine’s area is comparable to that of the French city of Lyon, and excavators operate as deep as 300 meters underground. By 2032, the mine’s annual coal production is expected to rise from 42 million to over 56 million tons. Major technology companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, OpenAI, G42, and NVIDIA have expressed interest in the project, though no formal agreements have been made. Kazakhtelecom, the local telecommunications company leading the initiative, has emphasized the country’s goal of transforming coal into digital export products. However, this strategy conflicts with Kazakhstan’s broader goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. The country is not decommissioning existing coal-fired power plants and is instead building new ones. The Data Center Valley is projected to burn over 5 million tons of coal annually, with 280,000 tons used as soon as the first data center opens in June 2027. A third power plant, set to open between 2029 and 2032, will reportedly use "advanced technologies," which are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 15–30% compared to older plants, but this is still far from carbon-free. Environmental concerns are growing among local communities. Coal-fired power plants release fine particles, heavy metals, and toxic gases linked to serious health risks such as cancer, heart disease, and complications during pregnancy. The Pavlodar region already has cancer rates significantly higher than the national average. A study by the Czech NGO Arnika found that Ekibastouz is among the most polluted cities in Kazakhstan, with sulfur dioxide levels at their highest and nitrogen dioxide levels three times higher than in comparable cities. The mine itself also poses environmental risks, as the spoil heaps—piles of excavated material—can release dust, contaminate water sources, and, if they still contain coal, spontaneously combust. This has already occurred at the mine earlier this year. The project also requires more than 2,000 cubic meters of water per day from the Irtysh River, which is already experiencing reduced flow due to increased water withdrawals upstream in China. Despite the scale of the project, little public awareness exists in Ekibastouz, and no environmental impact study has been officially published, even though such studies are required by law. This lack of transparency may benefit companies like NVIDIA, which will supply the computer chips needed for the data centers, and Firebird.ai, a California-based startup involved in the project. Firebird.ai has previously worked on a similar initiative in Armenia, where transparency has also been lacking.