KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 143 data centre investment projects have been approved between 2021 and June 30 this year, with investments totalling RM144.4bil, says Liew Chin Tong.
The Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister told the Dewan Rakyat that of these, 25 projects with Malaysia Digital status have been granted incentives under the Digital Ecosystem Acceleration Scheme (Desac).
These projects are expected to create 1,429 new jobs, he added.
"The government's policy direction is to ensure that data centre investments prioritise whole-of-value-chain investment.
"This includes data centres acting as 'offtakers' or users of renewable energy, creating local supply chains for data centre equipment, generating well-paying job opportunities for Malaysians, and expanding the use of AI within the economy, particularly in domestic industries," he told Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH-Sibu) during Question Time on Wednesday (Nov 5).
Ling had asked the ministry to state the number of approved data centre projects, the projected electricity and water usage, and the government’s strategy to balance artificial intelligence-related investments with the security of national resources.
Liew said that a Data Centre Task Force has been set up to ensure the sector's sustainable growth.
It is jointly chaired by his ministry and the Digital Ministry, he added.
"The task force also includes the Energy Commission, the National Water Services Commission (SPAN), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), and other related agencies," he said.
As of June, total electricity consumption by data centres nationwide stood at 603MW, or about 47% of the declared maximum demand (MD) of 1,276MW, according to data from the Energy Commission, he said.
"To ensure grid stability, the target utilisation rate is 85% of the declared MD," he added.
He said the Energy Commission's analysis of energy needs found possible speculative applications, and energy capacity projections have been updated to minimise the risk of stranded assets and cost transfers to other users.
"It has also conducted a Request for Information (RFI) process to gather more detailed input from data centre operators for better power supply planning," he said.
On water usage, data from water operators in Selangor (which also serves Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya) and Johor show that consumption by data centres remains well within control, he added.
"In Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, data centres use an average of 0.47 million litres per day (MLD), accounting for just 0.012% of total domestic and non-domestic consumption of 3,879 MLD.
"In Johor, they use 9.07 MLD, or 0.6% of the state’s total water consumption of 1,511 MLD," he said.
