KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23): The government is in the process of finalising sustainable development guidelines for data centres, which will become one of the conditions for applying for government incentives.

The guidelines will include a set metric for carbon usage effectiveness (CUE) to measure carbon emissions from data centres, alongside power usage effectiveness (PUE) and water usage effectiveness (WUE) to assess energy and water use efficiency, said Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

"Several engagement sessions with various government agencies and industry players have been conducted, and we will finalise the guidelines in the next two to three weeks," Tengku Zafrul told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

The guidelines are part of the government's efforts to ensure that data centres operating in the country meet sustainability requirements, including achieving the target of 70% renewable energy usage and net-zero emissions by 2050, he noted.

From 2021 to June 2024, Tengku Zafrul said, the government has approved a total of 89 digital economy projects, amounting to RM131 billion, with the majority involving data centre projects.

Currently, there are 0.62 gigawatts of computing capacity for data centres in the country, which accounts for 0.6% of total electricity consumption.

"The ministry recently held discussions with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) (KL:TENAGA). With the plans set by TNB, we can meet the electricity demand for future data centres that will invest in the country," Tengku Zafrul said.

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