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🇸🇬 Singapore /Energy & Infrastructure

Malaysian data centres guzzle more power as temperatures soar

From The Straits Times · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources New plan
  • Malaysia’s data centres accounted for a record 9.3% of national power consumption in the second week of August, up from a 7% average this year, officials said.
  • The country expects to add 9 gigawatts of gas-fired capacity by 2032 as it phases out coal and manages growing demand from technology investments.
  • Officials said Malaysia will optimise its existing gas-fired fleet through 2027, while hot weather has also lowered hydropower reservoir levels.

Malaysia’s data centres are using more electricity as temperatures rise, leaving the government to address a projected 9-gigawatt shortfall in gas-fired capacity by 2032.

Data centres accounted for 9.3% of Malaysia’s total power consumption in the second week of August, compared with an average of 7% this year, Energy Commission chief executive Siti Safinah Salleh said. Hotter weather has increased the energy needed to run cooling systems, she said.

With the hotter weather, the cooling system requires a lot more energy.

· Siti Safinah SallehMalaysia’s Energy Commission chief executive explained why data-centre power consumption has risen.

Malaysia, the region’s fastest-growing data-centre hub, is attracting billions of dollars from global technology companies including Amazon and Microsoft. The country plans to retire its last coal-fired power plants by 2044 and will expand gas-fired generation as demand rises.

No additional gas-fired power capacity is expected to come online this year or next. The Energy Commission will therefore optimise the current fleet to meet demand through the end of 2027, Salleh said, without giving further details. She added that the commission did not expect the hot weather to continue beyond early September. Low rainfall has also left Malaysia’s hydropower dams at very low levels.

Because of the hot weather, our hydro dams are also at very low levels.

· Siti Safinah SallehShe described the effect of the heat on hydropower resources.
About this summary

Originally published by The Straits Times. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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