In-depth reporting on Malaysia and the region.
NextDC, Australia's largest data centre operator, delivered financial results beating analyst expectations, yet its efficiency metrics for water and energy consumption have deteriorated for the third year running, raising fresh concerns about the industry's environmental footprint.
SpaceXAI's Colossus data centre in Memphis has triggered fierce pushback from residents and advocacy groups over illegal turbines, groundwater depletion, and noise pollution in a historically Black neighbourhood already burdened by industrial contamination.
Sime Darby Property has established a RM2.6 billion green sukuk programme to finance hyperscale data centres and logistics assets at Elmina Business Park, marking the first such Islamic financing structure globally for data centre development.
India is fast-tracking massive data centre projects to compete in artificial intelligence, but residents and activists in coastal Visakhapatnam worry about environmental costs, water scarcity, and hidden subsidies in the rush to catch global tech giants.
Malaysia will only greenlight data centre projects after confirming adequate energy and water supplies for residents and industries first. A new task force will assess each application based on infrastructure capacity.
New York has implemented a statewide pause on large data centre projects, marking the first such moratorium in America. The freeze applies to facilities consuming at least 50 megawatts and aims to develop stronger environmental regulations.
Authorities across North America, Europe, and beyond are imposing construction freezes and bans on data centres as AI demand strains electricity grids, water supplies, and local communities. New York, California, Ireland, and the Netherlands have enacted varying restrictions.