New Green Mark rules could drive up data centre capex, but are seen as necessary

OPERATORS are expected to increase their capital expenditure to meet Singapore’s updated Green Mark standards for data centres. But market watchers believe that the tighter standards are necessary to push the industry to be more sustainable.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Oct 18 introduced changes to the Green Mark for data centres. It will replace the existing certification on Mar 1, 2025.

Professor Lee Poh Seng, executive director of the Energy Studies Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said that the tightened power usage effectiveness (PUE) standard is a significant change.