How Singapore can chart a blueprint for global data centre sustainability

THE data landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation, with global Internet traffic soaring 20-fold since 2010. This exponential surge, fuelled by the rapid advancements in generative AI and the escalating demands of online activities, has catapulted data centres into the spotlight as this mission-critical infrastructure has begun to strain under the pressure of supporting our interconnected, increasingly digital world.

The challenge is particularly acute in Singapore, where an estimated 96.9 per cent of the population is connected to the Internet, creating a pressing need for robust data infrastructure that can keep pace with the country’s economic growth. However, this growth can have environmental costs; data centres accounted for 240-340 TWh of global electricity consumption in 2022, or around 1-1.3 per cent of global final electricity demand. This consumption is even more significant in Singapore, where 7 per cent of total electricity consumption in 2021 was consumed by the country’s then over 70 data centres, a number that has since grown to over 86 in 2023.

Consequently, data centres face a challenging predicament – the need to scale up to accommodate higher IT loads while also ensuring compliance with sustainability requirements set forth by governments like Singapore’s. Given the amount of energy these facilities already consume, and consequently, the carbon equivalent emissions they produce, this is no simple task. To keep pace with evolving technological demands and get on-track for the global “net zero by 2050” scenario, data centre operators must strategically plan how they will expand sustainably beyond just incorporating stopgap measures.