Written Answer · 2026-10-07 · Parliament 15
Modelling and Balancing Additional Electricity and Water Demand Arising from AI Computing and Data Centre Growth with Singapore's Energy and Sustainability Objectives
Mr Jackson Lam asked the Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry), Dr Tan See Leng, whether the Government has modelled the additional electricity and water demand from AI computing and data centre growth over the next five to 10 years, and how these demands would be balanced against energy security, water security and emissions objectives. Dr Tan replied that projected electricity and water demand from data centres, including AI computing, is factored into national infrastructure planning, and that since the 2019-2022 moratorium on data centre growth, new capacity has been allocated mainly through the Data Centre-Call for Application (DC-CFA) exercise, with the second DC-CFA requiring applicants to power at least 50% of their data centre capacity from green energy sources. He added that the newly introduced Digital Infrastructure Bill will require data centres to meet facility-level Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) requirements, with a framework allowing water efficiency requirements to be introduced where necessary.
Why it matters
The Digital Infrastructure Bill will require existing and new data centres to meet facility-level PUE requirements, with water-efficiency rules to be introduced where necessary; the second DC-CFA required at least 50% of capacity to run on green energy.
Key Points
- • Projected electricity and water demand from data centres, including AI computing, is factored into national infrastructure planning.
- • Since the 2019-2022 moratorium on data centre sector growth, new DC capacity has been allocated mainly through the Data Centre-Call for Application (DC-CFA) exercise.
- • The second DC-CFA exercise required applicants to power at least 50% of their data centre capacity from green energy sources.
- • The newly introduced Digital Infrastructure Bill will require existing and new data centres to meet facility-level Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) requirements.
- • The Bill's framework also allows water efficiency requirements to be introduced where necessary.
The Government's position is that data centre demand is factored into planning and managed through the DC-CFA mechanism, green energy quotas and PUE requirements, but it did not disclose specific modelling figures or a timeline for introducing water efficiency requirements.
Mr Jackson Lam's concern was about the pressure that AI computing and data centre expansion could place on Singapore's energy security, water security and emissions objectives.
This signals that the Government will continue to manage data centre growth and resource use through the DC-CFA mechanism and the forthcoming Digital Infrastructure Bill, prioritising green energy quotas and efficiency standards over disclosing specific demand forecasts.
"The recently introduced Digital Infrastructure Bill will require existing and new DCs to meet facility-level Power Usage Effectiveness requirements."
Participants (2)
Original Text (English)
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-10-21
37 Mr Jackson Lam asked the Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) (a) whether the Government has modelled the additional electricity and water demand arising from AI computing and data centre growth over the next five to 10 years; and (b) how will such demands be balanced against Singapore's energy security, water security and emissions objectives.
Dr Tan See Leng : The Government aims to support the sustainable growth of Singapore's data centre (DC) sector while managing its resource footprint. Projected electricity and water demand from DCs, including AI computing, is factored into our national infrastructure planning.
Since the 2019 to 2022 moratorium on DC sector growth, Singapore has calibrated the pace of DC growth, taking into account our energy security, water security, decarbonisation and other objectives. New DC capacity is now primarily allocated through the Data Centre-Call for Application (DC-CFA) exercise. In the recently concluded second DC-CFA exercise, applicants were required to power at least 50% of their DC capacity from green energy sources.
We are also improving the resource efficiency of the DC sector. The recently introduced Digital Infrastructure Bill will require existing and new DCs to meet facility-level Power Usage Effectiveness requirements. The framework also allows for water efficiency requirements to be introduced where necessary.