Jakarta, INTI - Minister of Investment and Downstreaming as well as CEO of Danantara Indonesia, Rosan Roeslani, stated that Indonesia will leverage its abundant renewable energy potential to attract greater investment in data centers.
“I think everyone in ASEAN wants to increase investment in data centers, like Malaysia in Johor Bahru and Thailand,” said Rosan while attending the CNA Summit 2026 in Jakarta on Thursday (5/2).
Rosan explained that the government is preparing Batam as a hub for data center investment.
In mid-2025, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) encouraged investors to develop data centers outside Java Island, with the Batam Special Economic Zone (SEZ) considered one of the strategic locations for such projects.
Ricky Kusmayadi, during his tenure as Deputy for Information Technology Investment at the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM, highlighted Batam’s geographical proximity to Singapore, which makes the region highly attractive for supporting the regional digital ecosystem.
According to the Data Center Map released on Thursday (5/2), there are 184 data centers currently operating across Indonesia. Jakarta leads with the highest number at 99 facilities, followed by Batam with 15 data centers. Bandung, Surabaya, and Denpasar each host seven data centers.
Meanwhile, Bogor hosts four data centers. Bekasi, Pekanbaru, Yogyakarta, Medan, Palembang, and Makassar each have three facilities.
Several other cities, including Semarang, Bandar Lampung, Banjarmasin, Surakarta, Banda Aceh, Manado, and Balikpapan, are home to two data centers each. Smaller digital hubs such as Jambi, Malang, Serang, Ambon, Cirebon, Jember, Kupang, Madiun, Manokwari, Mataram, Padang, Pontianak, and Purwakarta each operate one data center.
Indonesia has increasingly become a key destination for global data center investors, driven in part by energy supply constraints in Singapore, which has long served as Southeast Asia’s primary data center hub.
Data localization policies in Indonesia and Thailand have also accelerated domestic data center development, as high-impact data is now required to be stored within national borders.
According to the e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, Indonesia’s data center capacity is projected to surge by 250 percent, rising from 330 megawatts (MW) to 1,155 MW.
Across Southeast Asia, the expansion is equally significant. Singapore’s capacity is expected to grow from 1,000 MW to 1,300 MW, while Malaysia is projected to experience the largest jump, from 690 MW to 3,105 MW. Thailand’s capacity is forecast to increase from 350 MW to 1,050 MW, and Indonesia from 330 MW to 1,155 MW.
The Philippines is set to expand from 180 MW to 450 MW, while Vietnam’s capacity is expected to triple from 55 MW to 165 MW.
Overall, total data center capacity across these countries is projected to rise sharply from 2,208 MW to 7,225 MW, reflecting rapid digital infrastructure growth across the region.
However, the e-Conomy SEA 2025 report highlights three major challenges in the development of data centers across Southeast Asia: ensuring sufficient energy supply, preferably from renewable sources, maintaining power grid stability, and securing reliable water resources to meet data center cooling needs.
The Challenge of Clean Energy Availability
According to the EMBER report “From AI to Emissions: Aligning ASEAN's Digital Growth with Energy Transition Goals” (2025), Indonesia ranks second in the region for the highest increase in electricity demand driven by the expansion of data center businesses. Demand is projected to rise sharply from 6.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024 to 26 TWh by 2030, representing an almost 400 percent increase.
This surge poses a significant risk of escalating emissions, as Indonesia’s power generation remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels. The report underscores the continued dominance of fossil energy in the national electricity mix.
As a result, rising electricity consumption from data centers is expected to triple carbon emissions in the Java–Madura–Bali (Jamali) grid, increasing from 5 million tons of CO₂ equivalent (MtCO₂e) to 19 MtCO₂e.
Similar trends are projected across other ASEAN countries. Malaysia, which records the fastest data center growth in the region, is expected to see electricity demand jump from 8.5 TWh to 68 TWh, pushing emissions up sevenfold from 5.9 MtCO₂e to 40 MtCO₂e.
Meanwhile, the Philippines, ranked third, is forecast to increase electricity consumption from 1.1 TWh in 2024 to 20 TWh, with emissions surging nearly fourteenfold from 0.8 MtCO₂e to 10.5 MtCO₂e across the Luzon–Visayas power grid.
“Data center growth is placing pressure on ASEAN’s power systems, where most electricity still comes from coal and gas,” said Pritesh Swamy, Head of Data Centre Research & Insights Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield, in a written statement on May 27, 2025.
Conclusion
The rapid expansion of data centers across Southeast Asia reflects the region’s accelerating digital transformation, but it also brings significant pressure on energy systems and environmental sustainability. Rising electricity demand, largely met by fossil fuels, poses a serious risk of escalating carbon emissions in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
To ensure long-term growth remains sustainable, governments and industry players must prioritize renewable energy integration, strengthen power grid resilience, and invest in efficient cooling and water management systems. Aligning digital infrastructure development with clean energy transitions will be essential for ASEAN to balance economic competitiveness with climate commitments.
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