Cloud & Datacenters Magazine vol. #9 | Green by Design

Green by Design

The green ripple effect

Carbon neutral data centers

Blending nature with technology

Special SIJORI Supplement

Singapore’s Green Mark for DCs

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The green ripple effect of sustainable data centers

CtrlS’ Sridhar Pinnapureddy on building carbon-neutral data centers

Biophilic Design in Data Centers: Merging Nature with Technology

Singapore’s Green Mark for Data Centre 2024

20 Sun-kissed data centers gain popularity across UAE, Saudi Arabia and India

41 Peering, policy, and Asia's interconnected future

Designing greener data centers in a drier Australia

From server farm to fork: Could data centers supply produce?

Redesigning the data center for the AI era

From ambition to impact: Leader Energy forges ahead on renewables in Asia

Liquid Cooling trends for Data Center Sustainability

Singapore’s energy challenge: Innovation in a land of limits

Data center investment in Johoranother perspective

Floating solar farms to power Batam data centers

Games people play… at SIJORI Week: Golf and Football

From the Editor ’s Desk

If you have been following our magazine’s themes this year, the direction we’re headed may not come as a surprise.

We focused on AI right at the beginning of the year, then took a deep dive into cooling innovations, and now we are taking a

how it is possible to go green by design.

From being a box to check in PR and marketing initiatives, to an actual commitment with measurable results, sustainability has gradually climbed up the priority list of data centers. In this issue, we showcase how data centers are working towards achieving their ESG goals across hot and arid regions like Australia, and the Middle East, as well as tropical geographies such as India, and data center hubs closer to the Equator like Malaysia and Singapore.

This issue also comes with a SIJORI supplement where we showcase the

Meet the team

digital infrastructure landscape across Singapore-Johor-Riau Islands (SI-JORI). This is perhaps the most vibrant data center market in APAC, and is also home to a mindboggling number of subsea cables.

This is why W.Media is coming up with the second edition of SIJORI Week, which will include the Singapore Cloud & Datacenter Convention, InterConnect World Batam, InterConnect World Johor, and a special conference in association with the Open Compute Project. Not to mention a session of networking over Golf, and a friendly football match.

All this and more in this issue!

Deborah Grey Editor-in-Chief W.Media

Deborah Grey Editor-in-Chief

Jan Young SEA Editor

Simon Dux Contributor

Kristelle Razon Contributor

Paul Mah Executive Editor

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Malaysia caught in crosshairs of US – China AI race

In a dramatic about-turn, Malaysia which had declared that it would build a first-of-its-kind national AI system powered by Huawei Technologies Co chips, only to retract its remarks the very next day without explanation, Bloomberg News reported.

When reached for comment by Bloomberg News, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching’s office confirmed it’s retracting her remarks on Huawei without explanation. Huawei did not immediately respond to queries from Bloomberg. At this point, it’s unclear whether this project will proceed as planned.

Teo had said in a speech that Malaysia would be the first country in the world outside of China to activate an unspecified class of Huawei “Ascend GPU-powered AI servers at national scale.” The country would deploy 3,000 units of Huawei’s primary AI offering by 2026, she said in prepared remarks reviewed by Bloomberg News. Chinese startup DeepSeek would also make one of its AI models available to the Southeast Asian country, she added.

The project had caught the attention of the White House, which had earlier issued guidance warning overseas entities against using

Huawei’s Ascend chips. The use of those chips “anywhere in the world” could violate US export controls. The allencompassing “globally-focused” words were then removed during subsequent tariff negotiations with China.

Malaysia sits in the crosshairs of the two competing superpowers and this latest episode revealed just how delicate the situation is and how serious the White House is in preventing China from planting its AI hardware and chips in data centers across the world. The Trump administration’s fear in part stems from its perception that Huawei is fast catching up with Nvidia, the current global leader in AI chip manufacturing based in the US.

Huawei’s Ascend lineup is thought to be so far largely confined to use in China by domestic firms that can’t legally access Nvidia’s cutting-edge products. The Ascend chips are quite capable in running AI services, according to industry experts.

OpenAI eyes Asia-Pacific

OpenAI is eyeing the Asia-Pacific for future data center sites, joining an already heated race to build out AI infrastructure in the region. OpenAI’s Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon visited the region end May to meet with government officials and potential private-sector partners to discuss AI infrastructure and OpenAI software use. The countries he visited included Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and Singapore. The Asia-Pacific is home to more data centers than any other region worldwide, with major capacity expansion plans by Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc.

Source: Freepik

Source: Freepik

Partners Group to buy & expand Digital Halo

Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, is acquiring a majority shareholding in Singaporeheadquartered data center operator Digital Halo Pte Ltd with plans to transform the latter into a regional data center platform with over 500MW capacity. Alongside existing shareholder ARCH Capital, the Swiss firm plans to commit around USD 400 million to support its pan-Asian expansion targeted initially in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and Manila, the Philippines. ARCH Capital will remain as a minority shareholder following the acquisition. The firm said it intends to work with the management of Digital Halo to expand across multiple markets in Southeast and North Asia with next-generation data centers. This includes the construction and operation of two seed assets in Manila and Johor Bahru.

GIP–BlackRock to invest US$ 3–5 billion in data centers in Thailand

GIP–BlackRock and local Thai partners plan to invest US$ 3–5 billion (about THB 105–175 billion) in large data centers in Thailand, enabling advanced workloads such as AI, big data, and cloud services. Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is a major infrastructure investment group under BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers. A high-level delegation led by Adebayo Ogunlesi, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of GIP and Senior Managing Director at BlackRock, met with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to discuss investment opportunities and cooperation. This visit marked the beginning of a significant strategic alliance. Thailand’s data center market is expected to grow between 7.5%–8.5% annually over the next three years.

Datadog debuts data center in Sydney

Datadog, Inc., the monitoring and security platform for cloud applications, plans to open a new data center in Sydney, its first in Australia.

Datadog, Inc., the monitoring and security platform for cloud applications, plans to open a new data center in Sydney, its first in Australia. Expected to welcome clients in mid-2025, the data center will store and process data locally, creating sovereign capacity to help Datadog’s customers meet local privacy and security requirements.

“We continue to invest in Australia and New Zealand, with the recent opening of our Melbourne office and the expansion of our teams there, as well as in Sydney and Auckland,” said Yanbing Li, Chief Product Officer at Datadog. “Australian companies are innovating rapidly and rely on Datadog to support their continued cloud investments, digital transformations and AI projects.

For businesses in highly regulated industries like healthcare and financial services, hosting data locally is critical—a need we’re addressing with this new data center.”

According to Rob Thorne, Vice President Asia Pacific and Japan at Datadog, Australia is a high priority market for Datadog, which, together with New Zealand, are experiencing surging demand. Currently, the company works with more than 1,000 organisations in Australia and New Zealand, and employs around 100 people in those two countries. The Sydney data center adds to Datadog’s existing locations in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Source: Vecteezy

Sify inaugurates AI-ready Data Center in Chennai

Sify Infinit Spaces Ltd., a prominent Indian data center provider, has announced the inauguration of an AI-ready data center campus in Chennai.

This facility will have an eventual capacity of 130 MW. It is also the only data center in India with an on-site open cable landing station.

The facility will serve as a critical enabler for AI workloads and digitalfirst enterprises, providing scalable infrastructure and high-performance computing capabilities. Located in the upcoming technology hub of Siruseri, the facility was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru M. K. Stalin, in the presence of Hon’ble Minister for Micro, Small and Medium

Tencent Cloud launches Osaka Cloud Region and third data center in Japan

Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, has announced the launch of its Osaka Cloud Region in Japan. It will also set up a data center in the Kansai region of Osaka, its third such facility in Japan after two in Tokyo,

Enterprises, Thiru T. M. Anbarasan and Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Investment promotion & Commerce, Dr. T.R.B. Rajaa.

The company further said that this platinum-rated Green Data Center is recognized with four ratings from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), and that Sify aspires to power the Siruseri data center entirely with renewable energy and manage it using sustainable building management practices.

bringing the company’s global tally to 56 data centers across 21 geographical regions. The announcement of the new availability zone in Osaka was made at Tencent Cloud Day 2025 in Tokyo.

PDG launches billiondollar AI-ready data center in Japan

Princeton Digital Group (PDG), one of Asia’s major data center providers, has announced the official launch of its TY1 campus in Japan. The US$ 1 billion facility is located in Saitama City, and has an IT capacity of 96MW. TY1 is purpose-built for high-performance AI computing, and delivers 140kW per rack of high-density capacity to support AI workloads, among the highest globally. Engineered specifically for next-generation AI, TY1 features PUE of <1.34 and is equipped with advanced liquid cooling technologies for efficient high-density computing.

ESR and STACK break ground on 72MW DC campus in Japan

ESR Group, a new economy real asset owner and manager, and STACK Infrastructure, a digital infrastructure provider, have announced that they will jointly construct and operate a new data center as part of a multiphase 72MW data center campus development in Japan. The campus is being developed in Keihanna, located in Japan’s Kansai region, where construction has commenced on the first building, KIX01A, which has 18MW of IT capacity. It is expected to be ready for service in the second quarter of 2027. This facility has been pre-certified as LEED Gold for sustainable building design and construction.

Felicitation of CM MK Stalin by Raju Vegesna, Chairman of Sify Technologies at Chennai DC launch

Source: Nikkei Asia

Image courtesy: ESR

Techno Digital Infra plans to invest USD 1 billion to develop 250MW DCs across India

Techno Digital Infra Pvt. Ltd., the wholly owned digital infrastructure arm of Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd. (TEECL), has announced plans to develop hyperscale and edge data centers totaling to 250MW across India, backed by an ambitious investment plan worth US$ 1 billion.

Launched in 1963, TEECL is best known for power generation, transmission and distribution. On

Get ready for Stargate UAE!

Just a few days after the launch of the UAE-US AI Campus, G42, OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, SoftBank Group and Cisco announced their partnership to build Stargate UAE. Readers would recall how a similar alliance was formed in the United States for the first Stargate project. Stargate UAE is a nextgeneration AI infrastructure cluster that will run in the newly established 5GW UAE–U.S. AI Campus in Abu Dhabi. The first 200MW AI cluster is expected to go

April 29, 2025, it formally launched Techno Digital Infra Ltd. as its digital infrastructure business.

The company’s upcoming projects include a 36MW hyperscale data center that is being built in SIPCOT Park, Siruseri, a technology hub in suburban Chennai. This Rated-3 facility spans approximately 2 Lakh Sq. ft., house up to 2400 racks, and integrates renewable energy with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for continuous

live in 2026.

Stargate UAE, a 1GW compute cluster, will be built by G42 and operated by OpenAI and Oracle. The collaboration will also include Cisco, offering its zero-trust security and AIready connectivity, and SoftBank Group, as well as NVIDIA which will supply the latest NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GB300 systems.

Saudi Arabia bets big on AI with HUMAIN

Saudi Arabia has also launched HUMAIN, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is

sustainability, adiabatic cooling for water efficiency (WUE), 25% green cover and a facility design PUE of 1.35.

The company has also entered into a partnership with RailTel Corporation of India, a public enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, to build 102 edge data centers across the country. This project aims to bring low-latency computing closer to users in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

the country’s sovereign wealth fund, to operate and invest across the AI value chain as a unified operating company.

HUMAIN will provide a comprehensive range of AI services, products and tools, including next-generation data centers, AI infrastructure and cloud capabilities, and advanced AI models and solutions. The company will also offer one of the world’s most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models (LLMs).

Shortly after its creation, HUMAIN announced plans to develop an AI Zone in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with AWS. Through this collaboration, HUMAIN plans to develop AI solutions using AWS technologies for its end customers. Further, HUMAIN will work with AWS on the development of a unified AI agent marketplace, simplifying the discovery, deployment, and management of AI software for the Saudi Arabia government.

Stargate UAE

After the tremendous success in 2024, PTC’s mid-year seminar is returning to Washington, D.C. in 2025.

PTC’DC will unite more than 400 industry leaders from government, private equity, policy, finance, technology, and regulatory sectors to address the most pressing challenges and transformative trends in digital infrastructure.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, collaborate, and lead.

Program Topics

↘ AI Implications and the Future

↘ New Market Dynamics

↘ Geopolitical Challenges to Building Infrastructure

↘ Private Equity Strategies

↘ Satellite Connectivity

↘ The Future of Power

Speakers as of May 2025

Andrew (Andy) Power President & CEO Digital Realty

Vint Cerf Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist Google

Eli Noam Professor of Economics and Finance Columbia Business School

Randy Brouckman CEO EdgeConneX

Obinna Isiadinso Global Sector Lead International Finance Corporation (IFC) Global TMT

Steve Smith CEO Zayo

Dan Dooley COO Lynk

Jan Vesely Partner EQT Partners

Lynn Smullen Senior Vice President, NACI Cloud Data Platform Oracle

The green ripple effect of data centers

Can data centers drive sustainability? On first blush, the idea sounds preposterous

By Paul Mah

Yet sustainable data centres can transform the digital infrastructure landscape, not only by reducing their own environmental impact through reduced energy consumption and more efficient cooling, but also by catalyzing broader benefits across the green ecosystem.

Specifically, innovations within the data center can potentially influence urban planning, support renewable integration, and inspire more circular approaches to technology lifecycle management. We take a closer look at some ways this transformation is already taking shape.

Towards a greener digital core

One thing is clear: data centers are no longer optional. Much like water and electricity, they have evolved into foundational utilities and are considered essential in many parts of the world. From streaming entertainment and social media to remote work, e-commerce, and mobile apps, nearly every aspect of our daily lives today is inextricably tied to a myriad of invisible digital services running within these backbone facilities of the digital world.

On a macro level, this means greener data centers can support

our growing reliance on connected technologies with a lighter environmental footprint. And there are ample areas for improvement, from the implementation of innovative cooling systems and water management strategies to increase water use efficiency (WUE), to energyefficient hardware and optimized server utilization that reduces overall electricity consumption.

In addition, greener data centers operated by sustainable data center providers will attract environmentally conscious customers and investors. This, in turn, can influence supply chain partners to adopt greener practices and ensure that sustainability is embedded across the value chain – from hardware manufacturing and logistics to software optimization and end-of-life recycling practices.

Another key factor is the push towards renewable energy sources such

In addition, greener data centers operated by sustainable data center providers will attract environmentally conscious customers and investors

as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. In places where renewable energy is available, the substantial energy needs of data centers can incentivize further development of these resources, benefitting not only data center operators but potentially increasing their availability across the wider region.

Spillover benefits of sustainability

Zooming into the data center and the intricate systems deployed there, the push for sustainability has

Liquid Cooling

sparked a wave of innovation with farreaching impact. Green and sustainable technologies pioneered within data centers are gradually finding their way into sectors like manufacturing, logistics, and commercial real estate.

For instance, AI and machine learning systems used in data centers to forecast energy usage, optimize cooling, and reduce power consumption are now being adopted in commercial buildings and industrial facilities. Smart building management systems can apply similar AI algorithms to fine-tune heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); AI-driven predictive maintenance and energy management are also being used in manufacturing plants to minimize downtime and reduce waste.

Some data centers located in cold climates have experimented with capturing waste heat and redirecting it to warm nearby buildings or support industrial processes. Similarly, district heating systems that repurpose waste heat from factories or subway systems to supply local heating networks have already been rolled out.

While uptake remains uneven and many of these AI tools were co-developed in parallel rather than solely by data center operators, current developments show how sustainability investments in one sector can unlock

Sterling, Virginia Data Center

new efficiencies and environmental gains across others. As the development of sustainability technologies in data centers accelerates, it is increasingly likely to spill over and reshape sustainability standards across a broad swath of industries.

Rippling

beyond the data center

Data centers require a massive amount of resources which can place significant stress on local infrastructure and affect the availability and adequacy of utilities for surrounding communities. Some seek to mitigate this by adopting more sustainable practices, investing in resource efficient systems, or working closely with local authorities to ensure infrastructure planning aligns with community needs. But there are times when it’s still not enough.

As a result, data center developments now often extend beyond their perimeter fencing, with operators taking steps to ease the strain their resource demands place on surrounding communities. When Google purchased a plot of land roughly the size of 200 soccer fields in Port Dickson, Malaysia, for a data centre earlier this year, it also signed a contract to build a new water treatment plant and an off-river reservoir. Similarly, AirTrunk announced a landmark

Some data centers located in cold climates have experimented with capturing waste heat and redirecting it to warm nearby buildings or support industrial processes.

partnership to invest in treatment infrastructure that will recycle wastewater for its Johor data centers.

Another emerging response lies in leveraging the power generators and substantial battery storage capacity within modern hyperscale data centers to help stabilize the grid. This becomes particularly relevant as electricity grids shift toward renewable sources like solar and wind, which are more variable and prone to voltage fluctuations. This could pave the way for microgrids built around data centers or enable them to take on more active roles in grid balancing for greater resilience.

Sustainability was once an afterthought in digital infrastructure. Today, it's a driving force. Data centers are becoming unexpected anchors for green innovation – both inside their walls and far beyond – nudging sustainability forward in a world that urgently needs progress.

Source: CyrusOne

CtrlS’ Sridhar Pinnapureddy on building carbon-neutral data centers

Business leaders are increasingly making sustainability one of their top priorities. Sridhar Pinnapureddy, the founder and CEO of CtrlS Datacenters is one such leader. W.Media caught up with him to discuss the challenges in walking the talk.

By Deborah Grey

“India is emerging as a leader in the Asia-Pacific region in the field of renewable energy, rapidly progressing toward the goal of supplying 100 percent green power,” he says right off the bat when asked about the one thing that excites him most about India’s digital infrastructure landscape.

“This transformation is driven by an ambitious national agenda, strong policy support, and significant investments in clean energy infrastructure,” he continues enthusiastically, and goes on to explain how when there is a will, there’s a way to achieve ambitious sustainability goals, even in the age of AI.

“The industry is capable of managing growth, with multiple capable participants. For example, CtrlS has increased its capacity from 125 MW to 250 MW within just two years and

also bought land and power for 2 GW, simultaneously. We even built solar power plants to supply green power to our data centers during this period.”

Founded in 2007, CtrlS Datacenters offers hyperscale, colocation and managed services to over 20 Fortune 100 companies. Today, it has a nationwide presence with 250 MW (IT Load) of combined data center capacity across key tier-1 markets, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida, and Kolkata. CtrlS Datacenters also operates edge data center facilities in tier-2 markets such as Patna and Lucknow, with further expansions planned in these markets along with GIFT City (Ahmedabad), Bhubaneswar and Guwahati.

In May 2024, CtrlS Datacenters transitioned its Noida Datacenter –DC1 – to solar power, aiming to enable the facility to meet 60 percent of its annual energy requirements through renewable sources. More recently in

“This transformation is driven by an ambitious national agenda, strong policy support, and significant investments in clean energy infrastructure,”

Sridhar Pinnapureddy, Founder and CEO, CtrlS Datacenters. Image courtesy: CtrlS Datacenters

February 2025, the company unveiled its captive solar farm – ‘GreenVolt 1’ in India. Located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, the 100 MW solar farm will power CtrlS’ Mumbai Datacenter Campus with clean energy. Phase I of the solar farm with a capacity of 50 MW already went live in June 2024, and powers Mumbai campus. Phase II with an additional capacity of 50 MW is under implementation. Meanwhile, ‘GreenVolt 2’ which will bring another 75 MW power is under construction.

Sridhar Pinnapureddy has a very clear vision of “future-ready” data centers: they should not only be carbon neutral, but also achieve a Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) below 0.7. That means generating energy on site so that the energy delivered to data halls exceeds what’s drawn from the power grid.

More importantly, Sridhar Pinnapureddy wants to build data

centers that have “negative” Water Use Efficiency (WUE). “We should supply energy - hot or cold water - to the cities we live in. We should harvest water instead of using it! We should make water treatment plants profitable to the cities we live in,” he says, sharing his vision. “All this is technically achievable with modern advances in thermal engineering, environmental systems, AI control, and renewable microgrids.”

“All this is technically achievable with modern advances in thermal engineering, environmental systems, AI control, and renewable microgrids.”

Image courtesy: CtrlS Datacenters

But how can organizations actually achieve these ambitious goals?

“To start with, give minimum 30 percent KRAs of sustainability goals to the CEO and management team! Form committee at board level - like we did at CtrlS - which will meet once a month to evaluate the same,” says Sridhar Pinnapureddy. “Make sure there are goals developed and assigned for all departments - including HR, admin, engineering design, procurement, projects and operations - everyone in the company should have a sustainability goal and their bonus, salary hike, variable pay linked to it.”

He has an eye firmly on the future: “Educate everyone we are doing this for our children and generations after. You will see miracles happen within a few years! We started this journey several years ago, and are still learning and improvising.”

GreenVolt 1, the captive solar plant of CtrlS Datacenters in Nagpur.

Biophilic data centers: Going green by design

Biophilic design may offer a blueprint for future data center design by merging sustainability with human-centric elements.

By Jan Yong

Imagine a data center with an indoor fountain, an atrium allowing sunlight to stream in, vertical gardens and lowmaintenance greenery in the lounges and offices. As unlikely as it may sound, this is already a reality in a few select data centers around the world. For example, Pionen White Mountain Data Center in Stockholm, Sweden; Facebook’s Luleå Data Center, also in Sweden; Google’s Hamina Data Center in Finland; Microsoft’s Dublin Data Center in Ireland, and NSA’s Utah Data Center in Bluffdale, USA.

The common theme here is applying biophilic design on data centers. This involves integrating natural elements such as sunlight, greenery and water features into the technical environment of a data center to make it exude the look and feel of the natural surroundings.

The typical features of a biophilic design include the following:

Natural light and ventilation: This involves using skylights, atriums, or windows in administrative areas to reduce reliance on artificial lighting, or providing views of the outdoor greenery.

Greenery Integration: Here, lowmaintenance greenery is installed in lobbies, workspaces or even washrooms. Walls and roofs can be installed with vegetation which can improve ventilation and reduce heat. Server areas have to be avoided though, to prevent humidity or mould risks.

Natural Materials: Using natural materials such as wood, stone, or bamboo, in interior finishes and even in furniture evokes natural environments.

Water Features: Installing water features such as indoor fountains or ponds are known to have a calming effect.

Sustainable Features: This involves

This involves integrating natural elements such as sunlight, greenery and water features into the technical environment of a data center to make it exude the look and feel of the natural surroundings.

View of the elevated conference room

Photos courtesy of Bahnhof AB

On the platform towards the conference room.

leveraging local ecosystems for cooling such as seawater or the ocean, and integrating renewable energy systems with surrounding landscapes.

Now, it’s evident that there is some overlapping with green data centers which prioritise energy efficiency and renewable energy. However, the big difference is that biophilic design is human-centric with a huge emphasis on employees’ health and well-being. But otherwise, the two are almost indistinguishable with similar benefits such as natural ventilation, reduced power and water consumption, and overall reduced carbon footprint which align with ESG goals.

Employing biophilic design is not without its challenges though. They include technical constraints – humidity from plants and water features must be isolated from server areas; security – certain vulnerable spots such as windows and open roofs may require reinforced designs to prevent unauthorised access; and maintenance – plants and vegetation need ongoing care, such as water.

In conclusion, biophilic design may offer a blueprint for future data center design by merging sustainability with human-centric elements

‘Rock as a living organism’

Better known as the Wikileaks HQ, Bahnhof Pionen White Mountain Data Center in Stockholm, Sweden, was designed by Albert France-Lanord Architects. It is a former 1,200 sqm nuclear bunker located 30 meters under the granite rocks of the Vita Berg Park in Stockholm, Sweden. Completed

in 2008, the data center blends in with the surrounding landscape and features indoor gardens, natural lighting and vegetation for insulation.

According to their website, “The starting point of the project was to consider the rock as a living organism.” They then visualised how humans try to bring the ‘best' elements from earth: light, plants, water, as if this is a foreign

place. The architects created strong contrasts between rooms where the rock dominates, and where the human being is a stranger, against rooms where the human being took over totally.

The choice of lighting has been very challenging with the designers trying to bring as much variation as possible. Otherwise, it is very easy to forget time in an enclosed space. Some inspiration came from science fiction films, such as ‘Silent Running', and Bond movies.

“The client, who is an internet provider, had a strong vision from the first brief and the result is only possible because of their persistence, the absence of compromise and great communication/understanding between all parties during the process. It [was] very exciting to work with a space which at first didn't offer one square angle: the rock. The main room is not a traditional space limited by surfaces but is defined by the emptiness inside a mass,” said Albert France-Lanord.

Indoor waterfall

Another view of the elevated conference room above the server racks

Singapore’s Green Mark for Data Centre 2024

How do you measure the sustainability of a data center? Is it by its PUE or water usage? Or should a data center be measured by how efficient its various internal systems are, from the diverse components of its cooling architecture to the efficiency of its backup power system or even the power consumed by its lighting?

By Paul Mah

Herein lies the dilemma. While every part of the data center plays a role, the impact of many components is heavily dependent on a myriad of factors such as workloads, climate and location, the type of hardware deployed, and even the level of redundancy built into the facility’s design.

The challenge then, is in finding a way to capture this intricate interplay – one that accounts for the variability across sites and systems, and translates

it into design choices to steer data centers towards greener outcomes.

Green Mark for Data Centers

In 2012, Singapore was in the midst of a rapid expansion of data centers as it grew into a regional hub. This growth raised concerns about the significant environmental impact of data centres, particularly their high energy consumption. As a response, the Green Mark for Data Centres (GMDC) scheme was created to encourage the adoption of energy-efficient designs, technologies, and best practices by data

center operators.

Created by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the GMDC was an extension of the successful BCA Green Mark scheme for buildings, launched in 2005 to promote sustainable building practices in Singapore. The data center version was specifically tailored to address the unique operational and environmental challenges of facilities that run continuously and require significant cooling. It has since been refined over the years.

The GMDC uses a scoring system to assess the environmental performance of data centers. There are a number of sections and the meeting of various criteria to accumulate points. To be certified, a data center must meet all prerequisites and achieve a minimum score for each certification level. For instance, the 2024 version allocates a maximum of 75 points across six main sections. Examples could be the achieving of a certain PUE or the use of NEWater, which is high-grade reclaimed water produced by PUB, Singapore’s national water agency.

While the GMDC is voluntary and not widely adopted outside Singapore, it is internationally recognized and referenced in discussions about green data center standards in Southeast Asia. In that sense, it influences ongoing conversations around best practices and benchmarking for sustainability. And the fact that the GMDC is likely to be an integral part of Singapore’s “Green Data Centre Roadmap” for allocating new data center capacity means it will remain closely followed.

BCA Green Mark certification.

Green Mark for Data Centres (GMDC) launched.

GMDC Version 1.1 expanded for new and existing data centers.

GMDC:2019 launched.

GMDC:2024 launched.

Empyrion DC SG1 Dodid Data Centre

Source: Empyrion digital

What changed in GMDC:2024

The most recent iteration of the Green Mark for Data Centres, GMDC:2024, was unveiled in October 2024 and officially replaces the older GMDC:2019 in March 2025.

GMDC:2024 is a significant evolution, introducing stricter energy and water efficiency standards, broader sustainability criteria, and a stronger push for digitalization and innovation. In addition, the scheme has been overhauled to emphasise new areas such as resilience and adopt a more streamlined approach to certification. For the latter, this means offering just two tiers: Green Mark Gold Plus and Green Mark Platinum, along with a simpler recertification process.

GMDC:2024 sets a significantly higher bar for energy efficiency, water conservation, carbon reduction, and overall sustainability. For instance, it imposes tighter requirements on PUE measurements: Power consumption must now be captured after the power distribution unit (PDU), instead of after the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), as was the case previously. Specifically, it is now a requirement to measure PUE at 25% IT load, which more closely resembles real-world conditions. Another new requirement is energy metering and the availability of realtime PUE figures.

Water Usage Efficiency (WUE) is now taken into consideration. For the first time, data centers must meet specific water efficiency targets –marking a shift from simply tracking

What’s next?

Power consumption must now be captured after the power distribution unit (PDU), instead of after the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), as was the case previously. Specifically, it is now a requirement to measure PUE at 25% IT load, which more closely resembles real-world conditions.

water consumption to actively improving water efficiency. The use of advanced water treatment and monitoring systems is encouraged to maximize water reuse and minimize blowdown losses.

GMDC:2024 was introduced just five months after the release of the Green Data Centre Roadmap, underscoring Singapore’s ambition to be a global leader in sustainable digital infrastructure. Having been regularly updated for over a decade, the scheme is now firmly embedded in the industry landscape. Going forward, data center operators can expect ongoing revisions to standards and incentives aimed at driving continuous improvement. By setting clear benchmarks and promoting measurable performance, GMDC:2024 offers a practical framework to guide the industry toward greener design choices. As more operators align with these evolving standards, it will hopefully accelerate the shift toward more resource-efficient data centers across the region. Ultimately, such initiatives pave the way for a future where sustainability is embedded into the very fabric of digital infrastructure.

Empyrion DC SG1 Dodid Data Centre

Source: Empyrion digital

Source: Empyrion digital

Sun-kissed data centers gain popularity across UAE, Saudi Arabia and India

Some of the fastest growing data center markets are located in some of the hottest places on earth, posing new challenges vis-àvis sustainability. But in South Asia and the Middle East, countries have developed policies surrounding renewable energy adoption, and solar power is attracting attention and investments like never before.

By Deborah Grey

Perhaps the best-known example of a solar-powered data center is UAE’s Moro Hub, an entity established in 2018 to serve as the digital backbone to Digital DEWA, which in turn is the digital arm of the Dubai El ectric and Water Authority (DEWA), a major utilities provider in the United Arab Emirates. Moro Hub data centers are located in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is one of the largest solar parks in the world! When completed, it aims to save over 6.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually.

The Sustainability and Innovation

Center of DEWA explains the genesis of the idea on its website saying, “The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 aim to provide 100 percent of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. To achieve this, DEWA is developing the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in phases, to eventually generate 5,000 MW from photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies.”

Phase 1 of the park comprising 152,000 photovoltaic cells connected to 13 step-up transformers in inverter building, became operational in 2013. The 200MW phase 2 was inaugurated in 2017, while the 800MW third phase of the solar park using photovoltaic

solar panels became fully operational in 2020. Subsequent phases are in various stages of development.

Next door in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), there is growing commitment towards adoption of renewable energy especially given the large number of giga projects that are in various stages of development. The government is playing its part in encouraging adoption of green energy via Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative. Saudi Vision 2030 is an ambitious plan for economic diversification, attracting foreign investment, developing high tech modern infrastructure in exclusive business and leisure zones, as well as building futuristic cities such as NEOM. After the program was first

Phase 3 of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park Image courtesy: mbrsic.ae

GreenVolt

1, the captive solar plant of CtrlS Datacenters in Nagpur.

Image courtesy: CtrlS Datacenters

announced in 2016, it was followed up with the Saudi Green Initiative that was inaugurated in 2021. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is now increasingly investing in green energy and sustainable development projects. Riyadh plans to become Net Zero by 2060. Solar energy plays an important role in Saudi Arabia’s plans to go green.

As per research by Mordor Intelligence, the country receives an average of 8.9 hours of sunshine per day and demonstrates solar irradiation levels of 250 W/m2, significantly exceeding the global average of 100200 W/m2 for high-potential solar power areas. Meanwhile research by the IMARC Group found that Saudi Arabia’s solar energy market size reached USD 6.0 Billion in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach USD 125.2 billion by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 39.36 percent during 2025-2033.

Today solar plants and fields are being developed across the country. Some of the most prominent ones being: Sakaka Solar Plant, Haradh Solar PV Park, and Al Subaiah Solar Park that is under development in Mecca province and aims to deliver 2060 MW of power when it gets completed later this year.

“India is very progressive when it comes to green energy. In the mid to long term, India is very well positioned. The policies here to do your own projects with green energy service providers allow data centers to really walk the talk on sustainability.”

Vivek Dahiya (Head, Data Center Advisory & Transaction Services, Data Center Group, APAC, Cushman & Wakefield)

In India too, there has been a strong push from the government to enable greater adoption of solar power. It rolled out the scheme for Development of Solar Parks and Ultra-Mega Solar Power Projects way back in December, 2014. Under the scheme, it was proposed to set up at least 25 Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects targeting 20,000 MW of solar power installed capacity within a span of 5 years starting from 2014-15. The capacity of the Scheme was enhanced from 20,000 MW to 40,000 MW on 21-03-2017. These parks are proposed to be set up by 2025-26.

“India is very progressive when it comes to green energy,” says Vivek Dahiya (Head, Data Center Advisory

& Transaction Services, Data Center Group, APAC, Cushman & Wakefield). “In the mid to long term, India is very well positioned. The policies here to do your own projects with green energy service providers allow data centers to really walk the talk on sustainability.”

Apart from the availability of abundant sunshine, India is keen on solar energy for another reason. It is one of its best bets to power data centers in the age of AI. However, Dahiya cautions, “But it is still challenging, because it is a moving target. The advent of AI has increased the pressure for everyone across the world.”

One data center company that is adopting solar energy in a major way is CtrlS Datacenters. In May 2024, it transitioned its Noida Datacenter –DC1 – to solar power, aiming to enable the facility to meet 60 percent of its annual energy requirements through renewable sources. More recently in February 2025, the company unveiled its captive solar farm – ‘GreenVolt 1’ in India. Located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, the 100 MW solar farm will power CtrlS’ Mumbai Datacenter Campus with clean energy. Phase I of the solar farm with a capacity of 50 MW already went live in June 2024, and powers Mumbai campus. Phase II with an additional capacity of 50 MW is under implementation. Meanwhile, ‘GreenVolt 2’ which will bring another 75 MW power, is under construction.

“CtrlS has increased its capacity from 125 MW to 250 MW within just two years and also bought land and power for 2 GW, simultaneously. We even built solar power plants to supply green power to our data centers during this period,” says Sridhar Pinnapureddy, the founder and CEO of CtrlS Datacenters.

And then there are large conglomerates like the Adani Group that not only have a dedicated renewables business, but also dabble in digital infrastructure. Speaking during a panel discussion at Chennai CDC 2025, Sanjay Bhutani (CBO, AdaniConneX) said, “Adani Group has committed to 45 GW by 2030, and already has 25 GW of infrastructure available.”

However, industry leaders point to the need to develop a delivery infrastructure that will take the power from the green energy plants to the data center. Initial capital investment is also a factor that might make small and medium sized players anxious.

Redesigning the data center for the AI era

Sometimes change happens so rapidly that it’s difficult to keep up, we must make concessions or face tough obstacles. GPUs set the pace, as AI began to take over the world, but data centers struggled - some couldn’t meet time-to-market demands, while others paid a high price.

By Gaurav Dixit, Site Manager, Compute Nordic

Astark disparity in the construction of AI infrastructure builds can be seen if we look back a few years, or even compare it to today’s standard HPC loads. Despite their power, a typical 20 to 30 kW setup is no longer enough to support AI workloads.

Why today’s data centers are reaching their limits

With the latest popular B200s, the GB series, using 100–130 kW per rack, the world is racing to meet the new benchmark: the 600 kW Rubin Ultra. We are now looking at a load range of 20 kW to 600 kW per square meteressentially compressing a 15 to 20 MW datacenter into just 1,000 sqm of white space.

From a real estate or environmental standpoint, this may seem like a positive shift. But it brings serious engineering and operational challenges - ones that are keeping operations and project teams up at night. Here are some of the challenges.

Load tension or leakage: The recommended load tension for 100 kW racks is two to three hundred kilo per square meter. This simply means it’s difficult to design risers that can support such weight. As a result, cooling pipes are often installed above the floor or above the racks as

Despite their power, a typical 20 to 30kW setup is no longer enough to support AI workloads.

a workaround. But this isn’t a longterm, adaptable solution. Solving one problem tends to create another, and maintaining data center uptime becomes a real challenge.

Data center expansion: As infrastructure becomes denser, large

Server room by Schäferle via Pixabay

But it brings serious engineering and operational challenges - ones that are keeping operations and project teams up at night.

data centers can no longer utilize land to its full potential. One might assume this means higher deployment density within a smaller footprint - but that’s not the case. Government regulations and the limits of electrical engineering constrain how much power can be delivered to a single site. In my view, the “Land Use Effectiveness” of data centers is declining by the day.

Project planning: Data centers now need strong mechanical and civil infrastructure capable of supporting any solution. However, designing for a wide range of capacity loads is not economically ideal. Budgets rise significantly, and ROI becomes questionable, especially when lowcapacity deployments occupy the same

high-spec space.

Hardware obsolescence: Outdated hardware makes project planning even harder. With systems lasting just two to three years, data centers are already struggling with the earlier issues. What’s worse, upcoming systems aren’t compatible with the old ones, leaving no room for reuse or adaptation.

Rethinking the data center stack

Given all these challenges, it’s time to rethink and re-architect the four key pillars of a typical data centre:

Telecommunication: Future data center networks will be hyper-dense. Each NVIDIA SuperPod might require 22 km of optics. Expect sidecars the size of a single rack and up to 5,000 cables on a Rubin board with a 72-layer PCB. Are your Meet Me Rooms ready to support this?

Electrical: Power is the lifeblood of any system. Racks are arriving with built-in power, and data centers are moving beyond the traditional N or 2N setups. Systems now require

odd numbers of connections, which makes redundancy unpredictable, whether for PDUs, busbars, ATS, or N(x) transformers.

Architecture: Each new iteration brings changes: cable exhausts, cooling liquid networks, load-bearing considerations. Every component must be accounted for, and no single failure should affect the rest. Data centers must scale from HPC to next-gen AI with minimal redesign.

Mechanical: Risers capable of supporting two to three hundred kilos or more in the future, plenum space for massive power and network cables, and allowances for extensive cooling infrastructure are daily challenges for project teams. Every aspect of physical engineering must be considered, and all mechanical requirements met.

*The author handles end to end operations and strategy for the Compute Nordic. He has around 13 years of experience with various major DC players in India and Norway.

Server by ServerCloud via Pixabay

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From ambition to impact: Leader Energy forges ahead on renewables in Asia

Around the world, solar power has expanded faster than any other electricity source in history.

Advances in panel efficiency, supportive policies, and economies of scale have made solar the world’s most affordable energy option. As a result, installations are surging globally, outpacing the growth of any other electricity source.

Solar has emerged as a major contributor to Leader Energy’s portfolio, an independent power producer with a history spanning over 30 years. With over 123 renewable energy projects across Asia, solar is leading its portfolio both in installed capacity and growth scalability.

Making an impact in Asia

With a target of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, Leader Energy is seeking to make an impact in Asia with its diverse portfolio of renewable energy assets. And the opportunities are massive for solar and other renewable energy options in Asia. To serve the markets here, Leader Energy is leveraging a market-responsive approach using modular components to scale quickly, flexibly, and sustainably. Its projects span from large-scale utility solar farms to customized rooftop systems designed for dense industrial hubs, allowing it to serve a broad spectrum of market needs.

For now, Leader Energy’s operational focus lies in accelerating growth in solar , hydro, wind and energy storage, especially across Southeast

Asia’s fast-growing industrial corridors, while also strengthening transparency and trust through rigorous sustainable practices.

Infrastructure to support renewables

As renewables continue to scale across the region, the supporting infrastructure must evolve accordingly. The decentralized nature of clean energy sources makes grid stability and flexibility increasingly vital – particularly for commercial & industrial (C&I) users and utility-scale developments.

But scaling renewables isn’t just about adding more clean energy sources. It requires strengthening grid infrastructure and integrating power storage systems to address the intermittent nature of solar and other renewables. Together, modernized grids and advanced storage technologies are essential for ensuring a stable, efficient, and responsive energy network.

In recognition of this, Leader Energy is already advancing grid and storage capabilities across its operational footprint to meet the demands of renewable integration. In Cambodia, this include managing 235km of high-voltage transmission lines that enable cross-border hydropower flow and enhance regional grid resilience. Meanwhile, in Kedah, Malaysia, a 1.45 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) was installed to stabilize the grid and meet peak demand.

As part of its long-term vision, Leader Energy is investing in energy storage optimization to improve the reliability and performance of its solar energy systems, reducing intermittency and supporting a smoother transition to clean power.

Driving decarbonization through partnership

Leader Energy recognizes that the path to large-scale decarbonization cannot be traveled alone. That’s why the company works closely with national utilities, regulators, and government agencies to strengthen clean energy ecosystems and accelerate the energy transition. These partnerships play a vital role in improving grid access, expanding renewable capacity, and ensuring the delivery of affordable, reliable electricity to communities

Rooftop solar installation by Leader Energy

In recognition of this, Leader Energy is already advancing grid and storage capabilities across its operational footprint to meet the demands of renewable integration.

across Asia.

In Malaysia, Leader Energy has deepened its presence through strategic collaborations in both utilityscale projects and the commercial & industrial (C&I) sector. In Singapore, it continues to grow its C&I footprint through partnerships that align with national energy strategies.

Leader Energy’s role in the C&I space extends well beyond traditional clientsupplier relationships. It develops, owns, and operates rooftop solar assets for industrial clients, offering zero-CAPEX clean energy via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), turnkey EPC services, and end-to-end Operations & Maintenance (O&M) support. These partnerships help customers decarbonize efficiently – while building a more sustainable energy future together.

Taking care of local communities

Leader Energy recognizes that the success of its renewable energy transition must uplift the communities it reaches. Each year, it donates solar-powered streetlights to villages in Cambodia and Vietnam. This contributes to improved night-time safety and extend operating hours for

CRESS solutions for Malaysia’s data centers amidst evolving energy landscape

With Malaysia's electricity tariff adjustments taking effect July 1, 2025, Leader Energy is strategically positioned to help data centers and other large energy users mitigate rising operational costs and achieve sustainability goals

local businesses. In Kedah, Malaysia, a long-term mangrove restoration program has replanted 4,000 trees to date and set up two community-run nurseries not far from its utility-scale solar farm, with a goal of reaching 18,000 trees within five years.

Leader Energy also rebuilt floodhit schools in Vietnam and equipped libraries with rooftop solar. In addition, Leader Energy donated and installed solar panels to provide a rural children’s library with clean energy. By integrating solar into community infrastructure, these efforts support not just social equity but also secure long-term goodwill among the communities – a key ESG success factor for utility operators. Reflecting its ESG values, Leader Energy advances sustainability,

through the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS). CRESS, a forward-looking mechanism by Suruhanjaya Tenaga, offers immediate cost savings with more competitive rates than traditional grid power, optimizes for Sales & Service Tax (SST), and provides long-term price stability, shielding businesses from future market fluctuations.

By directly accessing renewable energy through virtual or physical arrangements, companies can significantly reduce Scope 2 emissions, meet ESG targets, and

education, and energy access, ensuring that its clean energy transition brings tangible benefits to the communities it depends on.

Of course, the road ahead is not without its fair share of challenges. As with every fast-growing industry, there are talent shortages, evolving regulatory frameworks, and the growing need for smart grid integration to consider. Though the road ahead for renewable energy is anything but simple, Leader Energy isn’t just adapting to the future –it’s helping shape it through innovation, strategic partnerships, and a clear vision for what’s next.

Discover more about Leader Energy at www.leaderenergy.com

contribute to Malaysia's net-zero ambitions. Leveraging its experience in utility-scale solar and gridintegrated storage, Leader Energy provides high-uptime, tailor-made, and ready-to-implement CRESS solutions – from project development and SST-compliant energy supply arrangements to seamless integration with existing operations – making CRESS an economic imperative and a sustainability opportunity for businesses looking to scale sustainably without compromising performance or availability.

LSE I, Kedah, Malaysia

SIJORI SUPPLEMENT

Singapore’s energy challenge

Johor’s manpower conundrum

Batam’s floating solar farms

Singapore’s energy challenge: Innovation in a land of limits

Small country, big energy problem – and an even bigger plan.

Marina Bay, Singapore

By Paul Mah

The small nation-state of Singapore has never had it easy, grappling with challenges such as an inadequate water supply, a lack of natural resources, and insufficient land to grow its own food. In today’s push for sustainability, these constraints are biting again. Its unique geography means that many traditional renewable energy sources aren’t viable alternatives to imported natural gas, which supplies up to 95% of Singapore’s electricity.

Yet despite these stark limitations, Singapore continues to envision a future where innovation, regional collaboration, and emerging technologies can help it reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. How can it overcome its energy constraints – and potentially leverage renewable energy to power the next generation of data centres?

Three key strategies are beginning

to take shape: scaling solar, preparing for hydrogen, and tapping into a region-wide electricity grid.

Scaling solar in a space-starved city

Singapore has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, guided by its Long-Term LowEmissions Development Strategy (LEDS). But how can the tiny city-state access the renewable energy it needs?

The country’s average wind speeds are too low for commercial wind turbines, while its calm seas and narrow tidal range limit the viability of tidal and ocean energy.

This is why Singapore turned to solar. According to the Energy Market Authority (EMA), the government agency overseeing Singapore’s electricity and gas sectors, there were only 524 solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in 2014. By the end of 2024, this number had surged to 10,978, enabling Singapore to meet its 2025 target of 1.5 GWp of installed PV capacity.

To achieve this, Singapore built

Yet despite these stark limitations, Singapore continues to envision a future where innovation, regional collaboration, and emerging technologies can help it reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

large-scale floating solar PV systems on several of its reservoirs and developed one of the world’s largest offshore floating PV farms in the Straits of Johor. It has also been installing rooftop PV panels on HDB flats and, where feasible, deploying ground-mounted systems.

Singapore arguably has one of the most varied solar landscapes in the world – from vertical PV panels on building facades to floating farms on inland reservoirs. Few cities have experimented so widely. With a new goal of installing at least 2 GWp of solar PV capacity by 2030, it is pushing further with canopy-mounted panels over walkways and even studying structural deployments such as solar panels over roads, canals, and between buildings.

Laying the groundwork for hydrogen

Yet despite becoming one of the most solar-dense urban environments globally, solar energy is expected to meet only 2% to 6% of Singapore’s total electricity demand in 2030. What now? Singapore has long prided itself on using innovation, policy, and technology to overcome its constraints, transforming into a globally recognized success story. Could it do the same for renewables?

One idea is to import renewable energy in the form of green hydrogen. However, the hydrogen supply chain remains severely underdeveloped, caught in a classic infrastructuredemand gap. Producers are reluctant to invest in costly hydrogen infrastructure without clear demand and reliable transport routes. At the same time, shipbuilders and buyers are waiting for supply to materialize before making their own commitments. Costs also remain high, and timelines are still uncertain.

To prepare for this future, Singapore has begun building hydrogen-ready power plants – natural gas facilities designed to be converted to run on hydrogen when the supply becomes viable. The current plan is to have at least nine such plants by 2030, paving the way for a gradual transition to green hydrogen. And if hydrogen-laden ships begin calling at Singapore’s

Representational image via ShutterStock

ports, the city-state could one day become a hub for hydrogen trade in Asia.

Vision for a region-wide grid

Even with solar and hydrogen in play, Singapore will still need solutions beyond its borders. Another strategy is to leverage Singapore’s central location within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to reinvent itself as a regional trading hub for green electricity. With renewable projects spanning hydropower, solar, and offshore wind, research by Rystad Energy suggests the region could eventually deliver up to 25 GW of renewable power and energy storage.

For this vision to become reality, a pan-ASEAN power grid must first be established – an idea that has been circulating since the late 1990s. Several obstacles remain, including technical challenges such as differing voltages, varying readiness of national grids, and inconsistent regulations for crossborder electricity trading. Moreover, political and regulatory concerns such as energy export restrictions and domestic supply pressures, may also slow progress. But the biggest hurdle is likely the significant investment needed to build the necessary interconnections.

According to Energy Market Authority (EMA) chief executive Puah

To prepare for this future, Singapore has begun building hydrogen-ready power plants – natural gas facilities designed to be converted to run on hydrogen when the supply becomes viable.

Kok Keong, Singapore is prepared to invest in this regional infrastructure to help the country tap into renewable energy from its neighbors, effectively helping to build the backbone of the ASEAN power grid.

For now, Singapore has already signed agreements with Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam to import around 5.6 gigawatts (GW) of clean electricity by 2035. Having successfully transformed itself from one of the most water-stressed nations into one with significant water resilience, the question remains: can it meet its energy challenges and do the same for clean energy?

If it can marry rooftop ingenuity with regional ambition, the island nation might again turn constraint into competitive edge. The next frontier is proving that clean electrons, like clean water, can flow reliably to power Singapore’s digital future.

Solar panels on rooftops in Singapore.

Johor’s Manpower Conundrum

Addressing

the lack of suitable manpower amidst surging data center developments in the state, is easier said than done.

By Jan Yong

Johor, Malaysia’s southernmost state, has rapidly emerged as the fastest growing data center hotspot in Southeast Asia. From 10 MW in 2021 to 1.3 GW today, with projections of reaching 2.7 GW by 2027, Johor’s pace in attracting more data center developments seems unstoppable. But in the rush to capitalise on the economic benefits of data centers and their ecosystems, several concerns that have long-term implications have emerged.

One of the most overlooked concerns pertains to skilled human resources. Often while entering

a developing country, many multinationals showcase the many benefits from their investment including job creation. For example, when a big tech company invests in Malaysia, it would announce thousands of jobs would be created - both direct and indirect, together with its partners and customers, over a period of a few years, as well as the skilling of hundreds of thousands of people in AI. Additionally, it would project billions of dollars in downstream value over the same period.

As Sr Samuel Tan, CEO of Olive Tree Property Consultants, observed, “It’s hard to say,” when asked if the numbers were accurate. Currently, there is no process for determining how much of that projection has translated into real jobs.

Data centres’ broader economic impact is significant and very often underestimated if only direct jobs are considered.”

-Olive Tree Property Consultants

are highly automated and capitalintensive, offering limited employment opportunities beyond construction and minimal long-term staffing. Skilled jobs related to data centre operations may be filled by foreign experts, while profits are repatriated to international parent companies.”

Benefit to Ancillary Sectors

Tan, together with Olive Tree Property Consultants’ Executive Director Sr Tan Wee Tiam, are of the view that while it is true that data centres do not generate a lot of on-site jobs and prefer to “import” talent for high-end positions, their presence can stimulate employment across a wide range of ancillary sectors.

Two points stood out from the above projections: Firstly, data centres in general do not generate much employment. Even a hyperscale facility would only create about 100 – 200 permanent positions. These are mostly in technical maintenance, security, and facility management. According to an article in the Iskandarian, the majority of job growth comes from construction, electrical work, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) installation, and supply chain services.

“During the initial stage, data centres will need the expertise of real estate consultant firms specializing in land acquisition and leasing. During the construction phase, DCs require a significant workforce across disciplines, namely architects, contractors specialised in turnkey projects, civil / mechanical / electrical engineers, electricians, and labourers. Post construction, DCs will create jobs in other ancillary fields such as manufacturing and supplying servers, cooling systems, electrical components, and such like,” they elaborate ((where? In the article?)).

Samuel Tan

Secondly, the same article raised concerns surrounding Malaysia’s ability to retain the downstream value within the country. It wondered if this amount would instead end up being diverted abroad in the form of deals, earnings, and data repatriation. The same opinion is echoed by The Malaysian Reserve in an editorial opinion, which stated, “Despite claims of job creation and local development, most data centres

Moreover, data centres allow tech firms to scale their operations thus leading to job growth in software development, data analytics and cybersecurity. The duo add that global tech firms often prefer to establish regional headquarters near major data centre hubs, thus creating high-skilled jobs in marketing, sales, HR and tech support in those areas.

In short, the property consultants conclude that data centres’ broader economic impact is significant and very often underestimated if only direct jobs are considered.

Decades-long Brain Drain

A unique situation exists in Johor as with many other cities bordering a more prosperous neighbouring city. Many Johorean youth aspire to work in Singapore due to the latter’s much stronger currency. Similar roles are paid more than three times higher in Singapore thus attracting many Johorean workers as well as those from further afield. This has resulted in a decades-long brain drain phenomenon where some of Malaysia’s best as well as regular workers, left to work in the Lion City.

To supply the demand for data center staff, in March 2025, the Johor

Talent Development Council (JTDC) launched the Data Centre Technician Programme to fill 200 roles offering high starting salaries of RM3,500–RM4,000 ($790–$902) for diploma holders. Additionally, the JohorSingapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ) aims to create 20,000 high-skilled jobs over five years, with high minimum salaries.

This might just to some extent slow down the workers' exodus to Singapore. Workers who stay put in Johor can avoid the daily tiring causeway commute. Admittedly, the upcoming Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link linking Johor Bahru and Singapore, can alleviate the situation but it remains to be seen how it would change the

current dynamics of workers flow.

While some argue that foreign data centers should be mandated to hire locals to fill a certain percentage of the workforce, for example, 70 percent, others prefer a good mix of locals and foreigners.

In the final analysis, human resource development in Johor is a decades-long thorny issue due to competition with Singapore for workers and Malaysians’ preference to work in Singapore. It’s a complex problem that won’t go away overnight as long as the status quo remains. However, the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence might just change the entire human resource dynamics between the two countries.

View of part of Puteri Harbour, Johor, from Hotel Jen.

Photo by Jan Yong

Floating solar farms to power Batam data centers

Batam Island is primed to take off as Southeast Asia’s first industrial hub powered predominantly by renewables, especially solar power

By Jan Yong

With more data centers being built on Batam Island, there is an increasing demand for power to feed these buildings, filled with server racks that consume a mindboggling amount of electricity. The only feasible solution is to harness renewable energy, but even that comes with a lot of challenges. Two of the most practical renewables to be harnessed from the island are solar and wind, with the former making up most of the energy mix.

Not only is solar power getting cheaper than fossil fuels, despite the high initial capital expenditure, it is a healthier choice, as it emits a lot less carbon.

But even as solar usage soars, the

energy faces a major hurdle – land constraints. Batam, being an island, naturally has limited land to build solar plants. So the next best thing is floating solar farms. Of late, this has been where most green investments have landed. Floating solar farms avoid the high costs of land procurement, or having to relocate local residents. It also helps in preserving valuable terrestrial ecosystems.

Using solar panels also reduces evaporation while floating on water gives solar panels a cooling effect. Solar panels can easily be placed on reservoirs, lakes or offshore.

Several solar energy players, both local and foreign, have descended onto Batam to take advantage of some of the incentives. The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status granted to Batam provides preferential policies for investors in renewable energy projects. Additionally, Batam plays host to a number of solar panel manufacturers, thus providing

EDP Renewable APAC’s 5MWp offshore floating solar photovoltaic platform along the Straits of Johor.

Credit EDP Renewables APAC

faster and more cost-effective access to equipment for renewable energy projects.

Should the joint Indonesia –Singapore Duriangkang Reservoir project proceed as scheduled, Batam will be the first location in Indonesia to have a major commercial photovoltaic (PV) plant operating on a large scale. The project is a floating solar farm with

Photo by Jan Yong

a target output of 2 GW of electricity annually which will be transmitted to Singapore via undersea cables.

In March 2025, PT TBS Energi Utama Tbk (TBS) announced it has secured financing worth US$ 23.3 million for its floating solar power plant (PLTS) project in Batam. The Tembesi Floating Solar Power Plant, with a capacity of 35 MWac (46 MWp), is set to become the country’s second-largest floating solar project, after PLTS Cirata in West Java. Developed in collaboration with PLN Nusantara Power, it is expected to be operational by Q4 2025.

Other examples include China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) which plans to construct a 240 MW photovoltaic power system, combining both land-based and floating solar power, to supply electricity for its green ammonia project. The green ammonia produced will be exported to Singapore.

Clearly, Batam is now moving towards reliable, renewable-driven data center infrastructure. “This island is leveraging Renewable Energy

Certificates (RECs) from PLN Batam to meet Scope 2 emissions targets,” says Indrama YM Purba, CEO of NeutraDC Nxera Batam. NeutraDC Nxera is partnering with Medco Power, one of Indonesia’s top clean energy providers, to deploy on-site solar PV systems, starting with the rooftop installations and expanding to hybrid energy solutions in the future.

The success of Batam’s floating solar initiative is largely attributed to strong government backing and technical support from international partners. This created a favourable environment for investment and innovation. It has also created new job opportunities in engineering, maintenance, and research.

However, Batam’s floating solar journey is not without challenges. Initial costs remain high due to specialized materials and installation techniques required for aquatic environments. Moreover, long-term durability against corrosion and extreme weather conditions — especially during

The success of Batam’s floating solar initiative is largely attributed to strong government backing and technical support from international partners. This created a favourable environment for investment and innovation.

monsoon season — requires ongoing monitoring.

Regulatory frameworks also need to evolve to accommodate hybrid systems that integrate floating solar with hydropower or battery storage. More incentives from the government are needed to bring down costs especially upfront capex which is high although its operating costs are low.

With continued innovation, government support, and international cooperation, floating solar in Batam may potentially be a model for islands worldwide.

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Games people play… at SIJORI Week!

By Deborah Grey

W.Media’s SIJORI Week is back.

We are hosting this one-of-akind weeklong celebration of digital technology and interconnectivity across Singapore, Johor and Riau Islands from July 6-12, 2025. Amidst a whirlwind of site visits, networking, and conferences, we are also hosting some much-needed R&R sessions.

We begin on July 6, by teeing off at a special Golf Networking Session in Batam. This sun-kissed tourist haven, located in the northernmost part of Indonesia, is best known for its sun, sea, surf, sand, and sprawling golf courses. So, the first thing on the agenda at SIJORI Week is a round of golf at Padang Golf Sukajadi in Batam,

Indonesia. This is where W.Media is bringing together the who’s who of the cloud and data center industry for a round of friendly golf and networking on the greens. This is an exclusive event, with participation by invitation only. Readers would recall that our very first Golf Networking event was held at the same venue to kick off SIJORI Week last year. Here are a few pictures from the event:

James Loggie, Business Analyst, W.Media who is overseeing preparations for this year’s Golf Networking says, “Since our grand announcement in 2023, SIJORI Golf has been a major highlight for the week and continues to get bigger each year. This year will be our biggest yet, with more challenges and prizes.”

While the rest of the week will see a series of conferences about the cloud and data center industry and the connectivity ecosystem at different locations across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, we have big plans to bring the SIJORI Week to a close on a high note.

W.Media is hosting a friendly football tournament for participants at The Cage Dempsey, Singapore on July 12. Taking place at the end of SIJORI Week, this closing event is where competition meets camaraderie, offering a perfect way to wrap up a week of discussions, networking, and business connections.

Teams will be formed with players from across the digital infrastructure ecosystem – cloud service providers, data center operators, telecom companies, and more – creating a mix of friendly rivalry and industry

collaboration.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to end the SIJORI week than with an amateur football tournament organized for a good cause,” says Loggie. “W.Media plans to give back to the industry we are so fond of, by partnering with EngineeringGood.”

Engineering Good Ltd is a Singaporeregistered charity that brings together a community of staff and volunteers with diverse skills, including tech,

engineering, and more, to serve the needs of disadvantaged communities in Singapore.

“We are promoting EngineeringGood to the community for them to get more support and collaborations on their medical products for the underprivileged,” explains Loggie. “This football tournament will bring nothing less than a fun day filled with great people.”

Peering, policy, and Asia’s interconnected future

Asia presents a dynamic landscape in terms of digital revolution, with its connectivity fast evolving with opportunities for innovation, alongside unique challenges that require collaborative solutions.

By Kristelle Razon

The definition of Connectivity is evolving. According to Marc Einstein, Research Director, Counterpoint Research, the definition of connectivity is driven by two major trends: ubiquity and speed.

“Connectivity needs to be increasingly ubiquitous. It really needs to be everywhere,” says Einstein, highlighting the growing interest in technologies like satellites to cover the entire world. Then there is the demand for greater speed. Countries like Japan are already discussing 6G technology and 10 terabit fiber!

AI’s influence on Connectivity infrastructure

Therise of AI is a major driver behind the need for low-latency, highbandwidth connectivity. Einstein notes that AI is “the use case for edge that was missing.” The massive growth in AI data centers necessitates pushing more processing to the edge of the network, leading to increased interest in on-device AI for smartphones and IoT devices. This shift towards on-device AI is also seen as a potentially sustainable approach, as it reduces the reliance on cloud-based processing and its associated energy consumption. As Einstein explains, on-device AI allows for tasks like a “Chat GPT inquiry on my phone, but I don’t even need the internet to do it because it just happens right on the chip.”

Booming Subsea Cable investments and interconnection hubs

Subsea cable investments are experiencing a boom across Asia, fueled by increasing traffic, evolving networks, and AI. A key trend is the growing cooperation between governments and private sector companies, as well as collaboration among rival tech giants, to build these expensive and challenging-to-deploy cables.

NTT Data, Meta, and Ooredoo Group recently announced significant submarine cable projects, including NTT Data’s MIST and JUNO systems, Meta’s global Project Waterworth, and Ooredoo’s GCC-focused FIG cable, all aiming to boost global connectivity across APAC, and EMEA. These multibillion-dollar investments are driven by increasing demand for high-capacity internet infrastructure, particularly for cloud computing and AI, with many systems slated for commissioning or launch between now and 2027.

Both, established and emerging markets, are aspiring to become major interconnection hubs. Singapore and Hong Kong are making massive investments to upgrade their infrastructure. India and Malaysia (specifically Johor, across from Singapore) are emerging as significant locations for data center construction.

Regional resiliency and data sovereignty

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and peering arrangements play a crucial role in enhancing regional resiliency

and data sovereignty. Einstein recalls an earthquake in Asia in 2005-2006 that broke a cable, leading to a threeday international internet outage, highlighting the physical security issues of undersea cables.

Data sovereignty is another important consideration, with varying regulations across Asia, unlike Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which mandates in-country data storage. Singapore is highlighted as a country that has effectively fostered resilient connectivity through good regulation and private sector encouragement. Einstein believes that more regional cooperation, similar to the EU’s approach, is needed in Asia to facilitate cross-border business.

Sustainability and strategic alignment

Amidst growing concerns surrounding sustainability in wake of the AI boom, innovative solutions are emerging, including new cooling technologies and chemicals, automating data center functions with AI, and even the adoption of nuclear power. Einstein says that regulatory policies can influence development by encouraging measures like carbon credits to offset electricity usage and fostering greater cooperation between local government power authorities and data center companies.

Asia’s future in global Connectivity

Looking ahead, AI is expected to be the dominant force transforming Asia’s position in the global connectivity ecosystem for the next few years. Beyond AI, other technologies like 6G, evolving fiber optic networks, and satellite technology will also play significant roles.

Credits: Kristelle Razon

Liquid Cooling trends for Data Center Sustainability

Liquid cooling is here to stay – nVent.

With demand for AI and highperformance computing on the rise, data center managers are grappling with how to handle higher heat loads than ever before. At the same time, pressure has increased to drive sustainability, as data centers have begun to be seen as large resource consumers. Both these trends are driving the adoption of liquid cooling.

Liquid cooling systems offer an alternative to air cooling, improving energy consumption, lowering costs, and enhancing sustainability. With 3,500 times greater heat transfer capacity than air, liquid cooling can

achieve up to 45 percent better power usage effectiveness. It’s essential for managing rising heat loads and supporting sustainable efforts in data centers.

Additionally, Microsoft recently published a study stating that switching from air cooling to cold plates could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand by roughly 15 percent and water consumption by 30 to 50 percent across the datacenters’ entire life spans.

However, switching to liquid cooling isn’t always easy; operators must consider downtime, costs, and environmental impact while deploying next-gen chips. As we approach 2026, what trends should data center managers prepare for in liquid cooling and sustainability?

Liquid cooling systems offer an alternative to air cooling, improving energy consumption, lowering costs, and enhancing sustainability. With 3,500 times greater heat transfer capacity than air, liquid cooling can achieve up to 45 percent better power usage effectiveness.

Supporting efficiency even without facility liquid infrastructure

Many data centers face the challenge of supporting nextgeneration chips while improving energy efficiency. Ideally, liquid infrastructure for each rack would be beneficial, but construction projects involve downtime and significant costs. Liquid-to-air technology helps data centers deploy liquid cooling without relying on facility water. Running a closed loop through racks, it rejects heat into the air, supported by existing cooling systems. LTA systems support high-performance computing, reduce costs, and maintain reliability.

Saving water using Liquid Cooling

Surprisingly, liquid cooling systems can use less water than air cooling. While air-cooled data centers often rely on evaporative cooling, which consumes a lot of water, liquid cooling

systems use closed loops that recycle water. These systems only need occasional maintenance for water quality and can reuse heat for other applications like building heating and agriculture, adding to their sustainability.

Liquid Cooling beyond the rack

Data centers can increase sustainability by using liquid cooling in energy storage. Backup power is essential for 24/7 uptime and solar power generation, necessitating onsite energy storage to balance energy generation and use.

Space is at a premium in data centers, so energy storage must be compact. Liquid cooling enhances chip and energy density by preventing battery overheating and allowing closer placement, thus improving safety and sustainability.

Servicing Liquid Cooling systems

In legacy air-cooling systems, it is critical for data center managers to manage air flow and inlet temperatures to meet the needs of the chips being cooled. However, in these applications, the cooling is tied to the

Data centers can increase sustainability by using liquid cooling in energy storage. Backup power is essential for 24/7 uptime and solar power generation, necessitating onsite energy storage to balance energy generation and use.

entire room, so individual systems do not have as large of a direct impact on cooling performance. In liquid cooling applications, compute power is directly tied to the performance of the cooling system because the cooling loop runs all the way to the chip. If cooling goes down, even momentarily, it will disrupt data center operations and damage equipment. The time scales for overheating, equipment shutdown and catastrophic failures are often less than 30 seconds. This requires a very purpose-optimised and solution-driven approach to installing and maintaining cooling systems.

One side of maintenance that is worth calling out specifically is fluid

management. The CDU is the heart of the data center system, and following this analogy, the fluid is the blood. If the fluids inside cooling lines are not properly treated and filtered it can lead to bio growth, corrosion, fouling of cold plates, debris in cooling loops and, ultimately, damage to equipment. With millions of dollars of IT sitting inside data center racks, there is little room for error. It is critical that data center personnel either understand or partner with someone who understands how to manage water quality.

Water quality management extends from installation through the life of cooling equipment. It often includes regular filter cleaning and changes, flushing secondary pipework during installation or before delivery to prevent bio growth before the system is switched on, periodic liquid testing, and remediation to ensure liquid quality. It is important for data center managers to select cooling equipment that is easy to service and have a plan in place for maintaining water quality before the equipment is installed.

Discover more about nVent at https://www.nvent.com/en-gb/data-solutions/LTASidecar-liquid-cooling-in-existing-data-centers

Designing greener data centers in a drier Australia

Data centers now rank among the top ten water-consuming commercial industries globally. The United Nations estimates that by 2025, half of the world’s population will live in water-stressed areas.

By Simon Dux

To explore these issues, key data center executives came together for a panel discussion at CDC Melbourne. Moderated by Jessica Bennett, Sustainability Leader for Victoria at Aurecon, the panel focused on how operators in Australia - the driest inhabited continent - are responding to rising water risks.

The rise of AI workloads and the shift toward higher-density racks have added a new layer to the challenge with indirect water use climbing due to the surge in energy demand.

Looking at the issues

Equinix Australia Operational Sustainability Principal, Global Ops Engineering Sean Siew said that data center needs for land, power and water can have an impact on the society that lives and works in the neighborhood where the facilities are located.

“We all have a duty of care to ensure that we make the most responsible use of these precious resources,” he said, adding that while land is not an issue in Australia, water is becoming an increasingly focal point for data centers.

“When we use water for data centers, it means that we’re competing with the local economy. If we take a gigalitre, it means that a farmer somewhere may have less water for his crop,” he said.

Digital Realty Senior Data Center Manager Iain Hebden pointed to an example which saved 295 million liters of water in 2023 through targeted initiatives – equivalent to the monthly consumption of nearly 10,000 households. He explained that in countries like Australia, where all water is potable, saving water through improved Water Usage Effectiveness

Equinix Sydney Data Center

Green Energy Hub, Australia

“We all have a duty of care to ensure that we make the most responsible use of these precious resources,” he said, adding that while land is not an issue in Australia, water is becoming an increasingly focal point for data centers.

(WUE) has a particularly significant impact.

Technologies like those deployed at a Digital Realty Singapore facility, which removes minerals from cooling tower water to enable reuse, are helping drive these savings. However, Hebden acknowledged that not all operators have the advantage of building new sites and that retrofitting existing water-cooled facilities can be

challenging.

Governments are reacting

The startling growth of the data center sector and its consequent energy and water consumption has not gone unnoticed by governments around the world. “Some have already mandated regulatory environmental compliance, subject to government review. That means you’re not only going to build a sustainable data center, you’re going to have to operate it sustainably, monitor, measure and report,” said CBRE FM Engineering OPS Manager - APAC, Pran Rammanhor. He gave the example of one European jurisdiction - Germanywhich already mandates that data centers must reuse a proportion of the heat they generate.

Mohammad (Moh) Sherafatmand, Founder and CEO of Singaporeheadquartered Hydroleap, highlighted the growing momentum behind WUE initiatives in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) data center sector. “Over the past three years, we’ve seen a sharp rise in WUE-focused projects involving our electrochemical technologies – an area that received far less attention just five years ago,” said Moh. “This shift clearly reflects a changing mindset in the industry, with greater emphasis now being placed on sustainable water management.”

He emphasized that while innovation is accelerating, infrastructure transitions will take time. “If you look at the existing fleet, about 94–95% of data centers are still using

The startling growth of the data center sector and its consequent energy and water consumption has not gone unnoticed by governments around the world

air-cooled systems’,” he explained. “That means you can’t just switch to nextgen cooling technology overnight. But if data center operators and solution providers work collaboratively, they can unlock significant water and energy savings through innovation.”

“Hydroleap is currently not only helping data centers with their WUE by reducing their blowdown by 70-80% but also helping the data centers to reduce energy wastage on the chillers by reducing scaling,” said Moh.

Equinix puts water as a high priority alongside energy efficiency. “If you reject less heat through your cooling infrastructure, you will proportionately use less water. So the drive for energy efficiency is not always at the expense of increased water usage.” said Siew.

“A lot of times we think PUE/WUE has an inverse proportion. In many cases that’s true, but when we drive additional energy efficiency, we put less heat through the chillers, we push less heat through the cooling towers, and we do actually use less water,” he added.

DCI Data Center In Darwin, Australia

“Hydroleap is currently not only helping data centers with their WUE by reducing their blowdown by 70-80% but also helping the data centers to reduce energy wastage on the chillers by reducing scaling.” said Moh

Equinix operates in water-stressed environments such as India, California and Australia. Selecting the right cooling technology is essential to minimize water consumption, says Siew. He also stressed the importance of day-to-day operational discipline, such as maintaining equipment properly to prevent unnecessary water loss – such as avoiding waste from a faulty conductivity sensor in a cooling tower.

Scope 3 and water use

Iain Hebden of Digital Realty acknowledged that while some of his data centers are fully DX-cooled and use minimal water on-site, the broader sustainability picture is becoming more complex. “The old version of me would have said, sweet, I’m not using too much water, I’m set,” he said. But with the growing emphasis on Scope 3 emissions – which account

for the environmental impact of the entire supply chain – water used in manufacturing and delivering products to site is now a critical consideration.

Hebden said understanding Scope 3 is challenging and will soon affect not just facility operators but “probably everyone in the organization.” He noted that AI technologies are beginning to play a role in optimizing water use and cooling efficiency, signaling that the industry is at the start of a new phase in water management. “This journey on trying to save water at a localized level, it feels kind of like the beginning,” he said, predicting regulatory and operational pressure to accelerate change in the coming years.

He also discussed the complexity of measuring and improving Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) compared to Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). While most in the industry understand what a PUE of 1.3 or 1.5 means, a WUE figure such as 1.8 liters per kWh is harder to contextualize. Hebden suggested that while saving power and water often go hand in hand, technologies like dry cooling can complicate this balance –especially when factoring in Scope 3 impacts.

Siew highlighted the oftenoverlooked trade-off between water and energy efficiency in data center operations, noting there’s “usually an inverse relationship between PUE and WUE.” He explained that improving Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) often

He noted that AI technologies are beginning to play a role in optimizing water use and cooling efficiency, signaling that the industry is at the start of a new phase in water management.

relies on evaporative cooling, which, while more power-efficient, increases water consumption. “Water is 7 to 8% more effective in releasing heat to the environment than dry cooling,” he said.

However, Siew cautioned against a narrow focus on site-level metrics. He pointed out that electricity drawn from the grid also carries an upstream water cost, depending on how that energy is generated. “It’s not a simple equation. We have to look at the whole generation from end to end more holistically.” He urged the industry to move beyond on-site measurements and assess the full environmental impact of both water and energy use.

STACK Data Center , Australia

Sydney Opera house, NSW, Australia

From server farm to fork: Could data centers supply produce?

The Helsinki Hybrid offers a rare convergence of high-performance computing, local food production, and district-scale energy redistribution.

By Jan Yong

The next time you tuck into a bowl of Caesar’s Salad, have a look at the label to check the source. It could have been sourced from a data center in Finland! This is well within the realm of possibility in the near future, when data centers add other functionalities such as growing food at a vertical farm or a greenhouse, or as a civic infrastructure.

Currently being seriously explored for its viability, the food dimension solves a lot of sustainability issues at one go. Food security, climate action, clean energy, and meeting the everincreasing energy demands of AI data centers, the ‘all-in-one DC’ is perhaps a dream come true. A data center can now potentially morph into a multifunctional community space.

Just as how vertical farms can be built on highrises, it is possible to conceive of a multiuse data center. That’s where Joe MacDonald comes in. A visionary architect, MacDonald is one of those leading the charge to revolutionise the data center by incorporating emerging clean tech solutions. Given his expertise and passion for climate advocacy, MacDonald saw great opportunities in utilising empty spaces within data center campuses.

“We were inspired by the potential to embed food resilience, clean energy, and community infrastructure—like an integrated farmers’ market— within the digital backbone of the city,” MacDonald explains the design inspiration for such a data center.

As Project Architect for URBAN A&O architectural firm, MacDonald is focused on incorporating clean tech solutions such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Pumped Storage Hydropower, geothermal, and green hydrogen fuel cells to power the data center of the future. He has also played a pioneering role in advancing smart city/campus planning principles

and data center innovations across Scandinavia, the Americas, and the European Union.

The Helsinki Hybrid was born out of such a vision. Conceived as a 30-60 MW data center fully wrapped in a vertical farm and greenhouse, the Hybrid is a 100 percent self-sufficient true netzero facility, achieved by recovering up to 63 MW of waste heat from immersion-cooled servers. That heat would power all food production, warm the greenhouse and vertical farm yearround (even at -10°Celsius), and would still leave enough surplus to heat over 1,000 homes.

“We’ve also closed the loop

Aerial view

Photos courtesy of URBAN A&O

internally - a methane digester and wastewater treatment plant convert biowaste and greywater into clean energy and irrigation. No fossil fuels. No offsets. Just systems feeding systems,” says MacDonald, adding that the Helsinki Hybrid is also the first data center designed to qualify under the first tier of the EU Green Taxonomy; “..those that substantially contribute to climate targets.”

As for the waste heat recovery figures, the team has conducted extensive environmental engineering and thermodynamic calculations, much of them supported by AIdriven optimization models. “These

calculations are based on validated data from immersion-cooled server systems, envelope modelling, and energy simulations under Helsinki’s climate conditions. The 63 MW heat recovery

figure represents the high-efficiency scenario from its MW load, with 60–70 percent recovery—well within the performance benchmarks of advanced immersion cooling systems currently in operation globally,” he says.

“We’re very confident in the numbers and have structured the design and program around conservative-to-optimal performance ranges,” says MacDonald, adding that while the project is not yet built, “the design is being unpacked with serious momentum, particularly around its urban integration, food-energy-water logic, and regulatory fit under EU taxonomy.”

He adds, “The Hybrid is attracting attention and is currently under review by several major corporate stakeholders operating across infrastructure, cloud services, and sustainable food supply, because it offers a rare convergence of high-performance computing, local food production, and district-scale energy redistribution. This drastically reduces operating emissions while embedding utility-scale value in the city center.”

The New York-based architect reckons that what’s resonating with stakeholders is the project’s alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in particular, 2 (zero hunger), 7 (clean energy), 9 (infrastructure innovation), 11 (resilient cities), and 13 (climate action) - and its qualification under the first tier of the EU Green Taxonomy. In addition to its sustainability credentials, the Helsinki Hybrid introduces new spatial typologies for data infrastructure, making it visible, integrated, and productive within the urban fabric.

View of the Hybrid

Approaching the Hybrid

Q&A with Joe MacDonald

1) What is your design inspiration for The Helsinki Hybrid?

We set out to reimagine the data center not as a hidden utility, but as a civic and ecological engine. By combining vertical farming with immersion-cooled servers, we eliminate Scope 3 emissions linked to imported food—particularly relevant in Finland, where much produce is flown in. We were inspired by the potential to embed food resilience, clean energy, and community infrastructure—like an integrated farmers’ market—within the digital backbone of the city. It aligns directly with SDGs 2, 7, 9, 11, and 13.

2) Is the data center 100 percent self-sufficient in terms of water and electricity?

Yes—and more. Waste heat from the servers powers both the greenhouse and vertical farm (which needs to be dehumidified). On-site biowaste is converted to energy through a methane digester. Water is recaptured, treated, and reused. Beyond self-sufficiency, the facility redistributes excess heat to warm over 1,000 nearby homes via district heating.

“The future of data centers is multisystemic— producing not just data, but energy, food, and public benefit.”

Joe MacDonald

3) Should this be the blueprint design for all future data centers especially in cold climates?

Absolutely in urban and coldclimate contexts. Instead of pushing data centers to remote areas, we bring them into the city where their waste heat can serve local ecosystems and people. Turning server loads into local tomatoes, warm homes, and zeroemission food supply chains—this is the model we need for resilient cities.

4) How would you modify a similar type of data center, but set in a tropical or desert environment?

The core idea remains—systems working together—but the inputs shift. We integrate agrivoltaics, shading vertical farms beneath solar canopies to reduce cooling loads while generating clean power. Passive evaporative cooling, saltwater greenhouses, and

heat-driven, eco-conscious desalination are all in play. In warm climates, heat isn’t wasted—it’s transformed.

5) Are there any other unique designs for data centers that you are working on now or under construction?

Yes—one of the most exciting is a former nuclear bunker we’re redeveloping into an underground data center, using passive cooling and thermal buffering. We’re also prototyping modular units designed for island microgrids with integrated desalination and aquaculture. The future of data centers is multisystemic— producing not just data, but energy, food, and public benefit.

6) Cost-wise, how much more extra capex is needed compared to a traditional data center?

Roughly 25–30 percent higher in capital expenditure—but the ROI is stronger even in the short term. Operational costs drop dramatically through heat reuse, and in a publicfacing site like this, it functions as civic infrastructure. In Finland, that enables public co-investment—meaning the “extra” cost is absorbed because it delivers value across energy, food, and sustainability sectors

Joe MacDonald

Rooftop Greenhouse Cafe

To do green: Go smaller, think bigger

From mindsets to megawatts.

By Paul Mah

Oh how quickly things have evolved. Just a few short years ago, few knew much about data centers. Today, they’ve entered the mainstream. As the joke goes, even your grandparents could tell you what one is. But while public awareness has grown, the real story is the massive surge in energy consumption behind the scenes. And as technologies like AI continue to ramp up demand, everyone will eventually run into the physical and environmental l imits of our energy systems. It’s simple math. When I first started writing about data centres a decade ago, 10MW facilities were hardly common. Today, new data centres are easily five to 10 times that size – or more. In the past, many data centres did not operate at full capacity, but now, a 50MW hyperscale facility run by a public cloud provider or AI company is likely to

come close.

It’s no surprise, then, that some communities are beginning to push back against data centres, especially as they strain local resources such as water and electricity. These tensions reflect a broader reality: sustainability can no longer be an afterthought. The industry must respond with innovation and adopt more sustainable practices to reduce its environmental impact.

Time to get started is now

But where do we start? The world isn’t short on ideas. From using digital twins to simulate data center design, to tracking real-time airflow in data halls, to reusing excess heat, there are many promising solutions that are already on the table. Some of them even work remarkably well.

If I may offer some unsolicited advice, here’s what I’d say: to build data centres that are green by design,

we need to act on two fronts. First, we must go more granular than ever before – scrutinizing not just cuttingedge AI builds but also legacy facilities, standard designs, and inefficiencies right down to the server level. Every watt saved matters.

Second, we need to scale what works. Techniques that improve energy use at the rack level must be extended across entire facilities, even across global fleets. Only then can sustainability move from isolated wins to meaningful, system-wide impact.

In short, doing green right means zooming in and scaling out. We must go smaller and think bigger. The future of sustainable infrastructure depends on our willingness to do both – and on our collective will to push through hard choices, rethink long-held assumptions, and build something better than what came before.

Q1: The 600kW Rack Q2: Cooling Trade-offs Q3: Net-Zero Every thing Q4: Blended Infrastructure Adver tising now open: Why Adver tise?

Powering progress. Reducing climate impact.

Climate change issues are rising to the top of every leader’s agenda. For data center owners and operators, striking a delicate balance between reducing environmental impact and managing the growing compute workloads is crucial.

At Vertiv, we are committed to supporting our customers’ sustainability goals by designing and building future-ready digital infrastructures with the goal of increasing energy efficiency and reliability.

Vertiv’s approach to our planet and our people