Singapore Launches Application Process for 200MW of New Data Centres

The Singapore government this week began accepting applications from developers for an allocation of at least 200 megawatts of data centre capacity. 

The exercise, which runs through March 2026, also offers potential for additional capacity tied to the adoption of green energy, according to a statement by the Singapore Economic Development Board and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.

This is Singapore’s second call for data centre applications, following the award of 80MW of projects in 2023 after the city-state lifted a four-year moratorium on new developments in the sector. 

“Applications will be assessed holistically based on their strategic value to Singapore’s digital economy, broader economic contributions, and commitment to sustainability,” EDB and IMDA said in a fact sheet.

Three Pillars for Projects

The project requirements for the new data centres reflect strategic, economic and sustainability priorities, the government said.

Applicants must show how their projects will strengthen Singapore’s position as a trusted hub for tech innovation in areas like artificial intelligence, while enhancing infrastructure resilience and international connectivity.

Proposals must detail the fixed asset investments and total business expenditure for the facilities and suggest other activities or partnerships that will drive the growth of Singapore’s digital economy — like R&D, product innovation and talent development schemes — and improve the competitiveness of industries and companies based in the Lion City through the use of cutting-edge technologies.

To meet sustainability goals, applicants must design, build and operate facilities with a power usage effectiveness of 1.25 or better (at 100 percent IT load). PUE is the ratio of the amount of power entering a data centre to the power used to run the IT equipment within it.

Applicants should maximise the use of green energy for their proposed projects, with at least 50 percent of capacity powered by eligible sources like biomethane, low-carbon ammonia, low-carbon hydrogen, novel fuel cells with carbon capture and storage technology, or vertical building-integrated photovoltaics/building-applied photovoltaics, according to the fact sheet.

Jurong Island Testbed

Two years ago the Singapore government awarded the rights to develop a total of 80MW of power capacity to projects led by US giants Equinix and Microsoft, China’s GDS and a tie-up of Australian platform AirTrunk and TikTok parent ByteDance.

While analysts had speculated when the pilot programme was launched that no more than three proposals would be accepted for a total of 60MW, the award exceeded those initial estimates as it nodded to the growing importance of computing capacity to economic competitiveness.

In October of this year, the government revealed that it was setting aside a piece of land in southern Jurong Island for a data centre park with up to 700MW of power capacity.

The data centres are to be developed on 20 hectares (49 acres) of Jurong Island, an energy and chemicals hub formed from seven small islands into a single 3,000 hectare landmass. The new facilities will be required to meet efficiency standards, adopt advanced cooling systems and tap renewable energy sources.