Thailand to trial system for data centres to buy green power

THAILAND is rolling out a pilot project that will allow data centres to directly purchase renewable power, a move that could make it easier for international tech giants to hit ambitious green goals in the developing nation.

The move is aimed at attracting foreign companies that must use clean power, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said in a statement posted on X. “Clean electricity is a very important competitive advantage and direct power purchase agreements will unlock the door for Thailand.”

The lack of a policy framework for corporations to directly buy green power across parts of South-east Asia poses an issue for energy-guzzling industries that have also promised to decarbonise.

Select companies, such as data centre operators, that are keen to participate in Thailand’s pilot project must have large investment scale, standardised operations in every country that they invest, and are prohibited from selling surplus power to the domestic electricity system, Prasert Sinsukprasert, the ministry’s permanent secretary said in a briefing in Bangkok on Tuesday (Jun 25).

The pilot project was approved with a power generation capacity of no more than 2 gigawatts.

The energy ministry and related agencies have been tasked to study the impact of direct power purchase agreements on state-owned electricity producers, industrial users and the public, according to Prasert. BLOOMBERG