KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will need 9 gigawatts (GW) of new gas-fired power generation capacity to address rising electricity demand as the country moves toward its plan of fully retiring its coal-fired power plants by 2044, the economy minister said on Tuesday.
Energy demand is seen rising substantially amid a boom in AI data centres, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said, with higher temperatures due to climate change also expected to drive up consumption.
Malaysia is the fastest-growing data-centre hub in Southeast Asia, attracting billions of dollars in investments from major global tech firms including Amazon and Microsoft.
New gas generation capacity will be needed as Malaysia looks to retire the last of its coal power plants by 2044, Akmal told reporters at an Energy Commission conference.
"This is the planning ... to ensure that we will be able to manage the demand," he said. - Reuters
