Environmental watchdog RimbaWatch has warned that Malaysia's 14 new data centers planned or under construction will generate emissions equivalent to adding more than 2 million passenger vehicles to the country's roads, releasing approximately 9.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
In their report "Climate Impacts of Malaysia's Data Centre Expansion," RimbaWatch estimates these facilities will add up to 2.2 gigawatts of capacity, with 1.7GW having no immediate renewable energy plans, forcing reliance on Malaysia's fossil fuel-powered grid that currently derives 81–90% of electricity from fossil fuels.
RimbaWatch director Adam Farhan expressed concern that emissions from just one sector could match those of entire countries like Papua New Guinea, emphasizing that Malaysia's high fossil fuel grid intensity makes data center expansion particularly carbon-intensive compared to other nations.
The analysis reveals that electricity demand from Malaysian data centers is projected to exceed 5,000 megawatts by 2035, with Tenaga Nasional already receiving applications for 11,000MW equivalent to 40% of Peninsular Malaysia's existing power generation capacity of approximately 27,000MW.
Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof announced the government is working with state regulators to introduce specific water tariffs for data centers, as these facilities consume vast amounts of water for cooling, with a 100MW data center using about 1.1 million gallons daily, equivalent to a city of 10,000 people.
