Singapore’s Jurong Island green energy plans ‘an opportunity’ for tech, infrastructure and energy firms

Jurong Island has traditionally relied on fossil fuels to generate the required power for the production of petroleum products, polymers and refineries, alongside other industries, that have made the island an industrial powerhouse for Singapore. Close to 300 hectares (ha) will be allocated for new energies, such as hydrogen-ready natural gas, ammonia and biogas.

The government has also announced that Singapore will build a 700-megawatt (MW) data centre park on Jurong Island, which will be designed to meet efficiency standards, adopt advanced cooling systems and use green energy sources.

William Stroll, an expert in energy projects at Pinsent Masons, said: “Following the lifting of the moratorium on new data centres in 2022, we've seen cautious growth of around 80MW of new capacity approved under strict sustainability criteria.” 

“The announcement of 20ha on Jurong Island, roughly the size of 25 football fields, for a low-carbon data centre park marks a significant shift. Co-locating data centres with power-hungry, performance-driven workloads matching them to the availability of green energy sources, including four hydrogen-ready power plants, signals a bold step toward sustainable digital infrastructure, and meeting the fast-growing demands,” he said.

“With recent assessments highlighting the sector’s economic contribution, this move is a welcome boost for Singapore’s digital and green ambitions.”

Singapore remains Southeast Asia’s largest data centre hub, with over 1061MW of capacity currently in operation. The recently established Singapore–Malaysia Data Centre Economic Zone represents a strategic and pragmatic partnership, allowing Singapore to maintain its role as the “hub of the digital infrastructure wheel”, while leveraging Malaysia’s land and energy availability to fuel the next phase of regional growth.

Tan See Leng, Singapore’s minister of energy, science and technology, stated that Jurong Island would be a global test bed for new low-carbon and technologies.

Nicholas Hanna, an expert in technology ventures at Pinsent Masons, said: “The required energy consumption of the newly announced data centre park, along with the commitment that it must meet standards and predominantly utilise green energy, raises some possible challenges about where the power generation will come from, how it will be distributed, and how to compete against neighbouring countries on price. Singapore, as a nation, is no stranger to accepting challenges and turning them into world class solutions. This should be no different.”

“Large, hyperscale data centres can have power demands of more than 100MW, which will require a significant expansion of power generation,” he said.

“This is an opportunity for businesses looking to continue to expand their footprint in Singapore."

Roughly a third of Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions are from the refining and petrochemical industries, and the country has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by between 45 million and 50 million tonnes by 2035, in line with reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

David Clinch, an expert in energy infrastructure at Pinsent Masons, said: “Singapore is projecting forward and further innovating for the next phases of the development of Jurong Island, whilst taking into account how that interacts with the government’s sustainability targets. This is another exciting opportunity for businesses to be part of that development and work with the government to achieve those targets.”

Mark Tan, an expert in commercial law at Pinsent Masons, said: “Jurong Island’s upcoming data centre project marks a pivotal step in Singapore’s digital and sustainability journey.” 

“Designed to deliver up to 700MW of capacity with hydrogen-ready power and advanced tropical cooling, it appears to set a new benchmark for low-carbon infrastructure,” he said.

“This initiative not only strengthens Singapore’s AI and cloud capabilities but also creates further engineering and technology jobs, reinforcing Singapore’s position as a global hub for green innovation.”