Written Answer · 2026-03-02 · Parliament 15
Energy Consumption Projections of AI Park at one-north and Energy Efficiency Measures
Workers' Party MP Dennis Tan Lip Fong filed a written question to the Ministry of Digital Development and Information on the resource footprint of the new artificial intelligence (AI) park at one-north: the projected annual electricity and water consumption at full capacity; how the Ministry will measure software-level energy efficiency for firms under the National AI Missions; and whether the Government will mandate energy-intensity disclosures for large-scale AI models to mitigate any rebound effect on national energy demand. Minister Josephine Teo replied that the one-north AI park is not a data-centre park but a hub for a growing community of AI developers and solution providers, with annual electricity and water consumption expected to be comparable to other technology-intensive industrial estates such as the Punggol Digital District. She stressed Singapore's commitment to advancing AI sustainably: the National AI R&D plan has named resource-efficient AI a research priority; green AI software is still a nascent field with no internationally recognised standard, so IMDA is working with the Green Software Foundation on the methodology for a new Software Carbon Intensity ISO standard and is promoting efficient compute use through the Green Software Trials and the newly launched Practical Green Software Guide for Enterprises; and on data centres, building on IMDA's Green DC roadmap, the Ministry will introduce baseline energy-efficiency standards through the Digital Infrastructure Act now being developed in consultation with industry.
Key Points
- • The one-north AI park is positioned as a hub for AI developers and solution providers, not a data-centre park; its energy use is expected to be comparable to the Punggol Digital District
- • The National AI R&D plan has named resource-efficient AI a research priority
- • IMDA is working with the Green Software Foundation on a Software Carbon Intensity ISO standard and has launched a Practical Green Software Guide for Enterprises
- • The Government will introduce baseline energy-efficiency standards for data centres through the Digital Infrastructure Act
The Government holds that the one-north AI park's energy use is manageable (benchmarked against existing technology-intensive estates) and prefers to manage AI's energy footprint through resource-efficient AI research, international green-software standards and the data-centre efficiency thresholds of the Digital Infrastructure Act, rather than mandating energy-intensity disclosures for individual large models for now.
Workers' Party MP Dennis Tan Lip Fong pushes for quantified disclosure: he asks for published full-capacity energy projections for the park, a method to measure software-level energy efficiency, and mandatory energy-intensity disclosures for large AI models to guard against a rebound effect on national energy demand from AI expansion.
Singapore leans toward curbing AI energy use through international industry standards, green-software guidance and the data-centre efficiency thresholds of the Digital Infrastructure Act — placing the regulatory centre of gravity at the infrastructure layer rather than the model layer, and stopping short of mandatory energy disclosures for individual large models.
"The planned Artificial Intelligence (AI) park at one-north is not a data centre park. It is designed to be a hub for a growing community of AI developers and solution providers."
Participants (2)
Original Text (English)
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-06-20
16 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) what is the projected annual electricity and water consumption at full capacity for the new artificial intelligence (AI) park at one-north; (b) how will the Ministry measure software-level energy efficiency for firms under the national AI Missions; and (c) whether the Government will mandate energy-intensity disclosures for large-scale AI models to mitigate any rebound effect on national energy demand.
Mrs Josephine Teo: The planned Artificial Intelligence (AI) park at one-north is not a data centre (DC) park. It is designed to be a hub for a growing community of AI developers and solution providers. We therefore expect its annual electricity and water consumption to be comparable to other technology-intensive industrial estates, such as the Punggol Digital District.
Singapore is committed to advancing our AI capabilities in a sustainable manner. Under the National AI Research and Development plan, we have identified resource-efficient AI as a research priority. This, along with close monitoring of practices elsewhere, will help us consider appropriate policy measures.
For example, green or energy-efficient AI software is still a nascent field and there is no internationally recognised standard today. Nonetheless, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is working closely with the Green Software Foundation on the methodology for the new Software Carbon Intensity International Organization for Standardization standard, which provides an indication of energy usage for general software applications. In the meantime, IMDA promotes the efficient use of computing resources through initiatives, such as the Green Software Trials and the recently launched Practical Green Software Guide for Enterprises, which provides actionable steps for businesses to reduce their software carbon footprint.
We have also taken steps to improve the sustainability of our DCs through IMDA's Green DC roadmap. The Ministry of Digital Development and Information will introduce baseline energy efficiency standards for DCs through the Digital Infrastructure Act, which we are developing in consultation with the industry.