New data centres in Singapore to meet higher standards when moratorium lifts in Q2 2022

New conditions were announced for new data centre applications from Q2 2022 during a virtual closed-door meeting held between government agencies and local data centre players. 

Three applications will be approved during the pilot phase for data centre capacities of between 10MW and 30MW, a source told The Business Times.

Additionally, new data centres will need to have a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.3 and below.

PUE refers to the amount of power consumed by a data centre, divided by the amount of power used to operate the IT equipment in the data centre. A lower value represents higher efficiency.

Certain land parcels have also been set aside for data centre construction, although the government will consider applicants' suggestions for other sites.

Applicants will also need to include their innovation and sustainability solutions. Those that have built and operated data centres in Singapore in the past will have an edge.

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During the initial pilot phase of 12 to 18 months, the government will continue to evaluate its policies towards new data centres.

The closed-door virtual meeting was led by trade association SGTech, with government agencies such as Economic Development Board, JTC, Urban Redevelopment Authority, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.

BT has reached out to the government agencies for comment.

This comes after Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said on Jan 11 that the government had completed its review of the data centre sector.

"In particular, we seek to anchor DCs that are best in class in terms of resource efficiency, which can contribute towards Singapore's economic and strategic objectives. We will also put in place measures to raise the efficiency of existing DCs over time," he added.

READ MORE: 

• Moratorium on new data centres to be lifted soon; operators seek green edge

• GIC and Equinix to build 2 data centres in Seoul with US$525m joint venture

• Keppel data centre fund hits US$1.1b of commitments at final close