EXCO: Data Centre Growth Must Not Threaten Water Supply

SHAH ALAM: Data centre operators in Selangor must contribute fairly towards the infrastructure and resilience of the systems they rely on, while taking serious measures to reduce, substitute and recycle their use of treated water.

State Executive Councillor for Environment Jamaliah Jamaluddin said the rapid growth of the data centre industry must be accompanied by responsible water management to ensure that the basic needs of residents and essential public services are not affected.

“Selangor wants to remain a leading destination for the digital economy, but that growth must be high-quality, responsible and aligned with the capacity of our natural resources and public infrastructure,” she told Media Selangor.

She was commenting on a statement by Energy Commission Chief Executive Officer Siti Safinah Salleh on Sept 8 that energy consumption by data centres in the country had increased amid rising temperatures, creating a 9GW gap in gas-based generation capacity that the government would need to address by 2032.

According to Siti Safinah, data centres’ share of electricity consumption surged to a record 9.3 per cent in the second week of August, compared with an average of seven per cent this year.

Meanwhile, Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the state government takes public concerns over data centre development seriously and would not approve any project if water and electricity supplies were insufficient.

He said the Selangor government closely monitors data centre projects in the state, particularly in terms of water and electricity supply capacity.

More Efficient Water Use Needed

Jamaliah said the data centre industry could generate economic benefits through investment, skilled employment opportunities, stronger local supply chains and innovation, but its water consumption must be given serious attention.

She said data centres require water for cooling systems, while Selangor’s water supply system must simultaneously meet the needs of millions of residents, hospitals, schools, businesses and industries.

“The state needs to adopt a comprehensive water-cycle approach that takes into account water sources, treatment and distribution, reuse, discharge quality, stormwater management, as well as the impact of water consumption on rivers, aquifers and ecosystems.

“Every litre of water saved by industry means one litre of resilience returned to the state,” she said.

She also called for water efficiency to be incorporated from the earliest stages of data centre design, including the use of alternative water sources, separate piping networks, treatment facilities and adequate storage capacity.

Jamaliah said smart rainwater harvesting systems and Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) were among the approaches that could potentially improve water-use efficiency and the sustainability of data centre operations.

“Sustainability is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage as investors, data centre customers and communities pay greater attention to environmental and climate risks.

“Selangor should not compete to become the location with the most relaxed requirements. We need to become the state that is best prepared, most transparent and most innovative,” she said.

She said Selangor should aim to become a benchmark for data centres that use less treated water, produce lower carbon emissions, are more resilient and maintain public trust.

“We need to cool the digital cloud without drying up the earth. We need to grow the digital economy without eroding the rights of future generations,” she said.

Media Selangor