- Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Thursday at the Singapore Asia Techxhibition (ATxSG) the formal launch of a Green Data Centre Roadmap.
- The development of artificial intelligence drives the demand for data centres, which store vast amounts of data necessary for training and deploying AI models, rendering them highly energy-intensive.
- Beyond environmental issues, Singapore is also taking steps to tackle the growing threat of deepfakes and misinformation.
Singapore is taking a proactive approach to the growing demand for data centres, unveiling a plan for sustainable facilities.
Details of Roadmap
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Thursday at the Singapore Asia Techxhibition (ATxSG) the formal launch of a Green Data Centre Roadmap. The Roadmap aims to provide at least an additional 300 megawatts of capacity in the near term, further expanded through green energy deployment, and will continue to optimise the local data centre’s sustainability through enhancements in energy efficiency at both hardware and software levels, as well as accelerating the adoption of green energy sources. The plan encompasses enhancing energy efficiency across all data centres in Singapore, deploying energy-saving IT equipment, and providing incentives or grants for resource efficiency.
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Balancing growth and sustainability
The development of artificial intelligence drives the demand for data centres, which store vast amounts of data necessary for training and deploying AI models, rendering them highly energy-intensive.
Despite significant investments from companies like Microsoft and Google in increasing the use of clean energy, continued government incentives such as these are deemed necessary.
Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) notes that Singapore hosts over 70 cloud, enterprise, and colocation data centres capable of hosting the denser workloads required for cloud platforms, digital services, and AI.
To support the development and operation of energy-efficient data centres, IMDA will collaborate with this industry to establish enhanced standards and certifications, with plans to raise data centre energy efficiency standards by the end of this year.
By 2025, authorities will also introduce standards for IT equipment efficiency and liquid cooling to promote their adoption in Singapore.
Also read: OneAsia Busan Data Center: A milestone for the Asian Market
Tackling deepfakes
Beyond environmental issues, Singapore is also taking steps to tackle the growing threat of deepfakes and misinformation. The government has allocated $20 million to develop advanced detection tools as part of its Building an Inclusive and Safe Digital Society initiative, which was launched following the increasing risks in digital space consisting of cyber attacks, scams, and widespread harmful content.
