Southeast Asia (SEA) is experiencing a surge in data centre development, with the region’s market projected to more than double in value to more than US$30 billion by 2030.
Singapore’s data centre market is among the most mature in the region, hosting more than 70 data centres and accounting for a significant share of Southeast Asia’s digital infrastructure.
Countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are emerging as prime investment destinations, driven by rapid digital transformation, AI adoption and cloud computing.
The rapid expansion of energy-intensive data centres is placing tremendous pressure on SEA’s electricity grids. In some countries, data centres could account for up to 30 percent of national power demand by 2030, raising concerns about grid reliability, rising utility rates and increased carbon emissions.
Managing power consumption with AI
To address these challenges, Emerald AI is testing its Conductor AI-powered platform to make data centre power consumption more flexible.
Conductor enables data centres to dynamically adjust their power consumption in real time by orchestrating AI workloads across multiple facilities. It turns data centres from static, inflexible energy consumers into responsive, grid-supportive assets.
“Traditionally, the power grid has treated data centres as inflexible — energy system operators assume that a 500MW AI factory will always require access to that full amount of power. But in moments of need, when demands on the grid peak and supply is short, the workloads that drive AI factory energy use can now be flexible,” said Varun Sivaram, founder and CEO of Emerald AI.
In a recent trial in Phoenix, Arizona, Emerald AI’s platform reduced power consumption by 25 percent over three hours on a cluster of 256 NVIDIA GPUs, helping to relieve grid stress during peak demand.
Such flexibility could unlock 100 GW of new grid capacity for data centres globally, equivalent to more than US$2 trillion in investment, if centres can flex their electricity use by just 25 percent for short periods.
This new AI-driven technology should augur well for SEA’s data centre ambitions. The adoption of AI-driven, flexible power management and a rapid transition to renewables will be critical to ensuring that the region’s digital future does not come at the expense of its energy security or climate commitments.
Entelechy Asia 