KUALA LUMPUR, Big technology companies are expected to expand data centre capacity in Asia given the anticipated pressure on national grids, according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The EIU said the UK’s National Grid foresees a six-fold jump in electricity demand from data centres from now until 2034, driven by artificial intelligence-related (AI) data processing.

‘Currently, the United States hosts the majority of the world’s data centres with a few cities in other regions also being popular cloud hubs.

‘However, big tech investments suggest they will move cloud regions beyond North America and build the bulk of their new infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region,’ it said in a statement today, in conjunction with its analysis of data centres and their potential impact on national grids.

The EIU noted that data centre companies look for reliable power, land availability, and data policy when they invest.

‘Singapore, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Japan, India, and Aust
ralia have multiple cities that host several data centres.

‘In addition to expansion plans in existing markets, cloud companies will build new infrastructure in Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and New Zealand,’ it said.

The analysis also stated that big technology companies are looking for alternative ways to power their data centres, and also reduce emissions following the pressure on national grids.

‘One way is through a power purchase agreement with electricity generators, which will help data centre operators avoid relying entirely on the grid.

‘Such agreements also enable compliance with upcoming regulations,’ it said.

Slowly but surely data centres will be held accountable for energy usage among other things, although policies will remain far from uniform across regions, said the EIU.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency