AI & digital infrastructure · 2026-01
For AI infrastructure, power is part of the product.
An AI facility is a coordinated delivery programme: power, cooling, connectivity, equipment and contracted customer demand must arrive together.
Sector briefing · Retrospective edition prepared September 2026
The evidence
The IEA estimated data-centre electricity consumption at 415 TWh in 2024, around 1.5% of global demand. Its base case projects approximately 945 TWh by 2030. The latter is a scenario-based projection, not a realised outcome.
The business implication
For Southeast Asian project sponsors, a compelling location is only one part of readiness. Grid connection milestones, power quality, thermal design and commissioning capability influence when capacity can become commercially useful. A nominal megawatt figure says little about the workloads a facility can actually support.
What leaders should examine
Separate land and planning readiness from power delivery, fit-out and customer acceptance. Ask prospective occupiers for rack density, resilience requirements, network access and deployment timing. Keep landlord infrastructure and customer GPU equipment clearly distinguished in budgets and responsibilities. Milestones should be evidenced rather than implied by a target completion date.
Can every dependency support the same credible customer-ready date?
Source & reporting period
This editorial briefing uses evidence available by the stated reporting period. Business implications are NCAP editorial analysis. Projections are identified as such; source statistics do not establish the performance of an individual company or project.
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