New analysis shows that solar and wind could meet 30% of data centers' power demand by 2030 without the need for costly battery storage solutions — a critical insight, given concerns about the high cost of storage. That's according to a new report by energy think tank Ember, which finds that. Southeast Asia has vast potential to leverage a diverse array of renewable energy resources – including solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and biomass – offering a significant opportunity to secure its energy future. With 20 terawatts of untapped variable renewable energy (VRE) - solar and wind -. ASEAN is rich in solar and wind resources. Scaling up renewables offers a viable, cost-effective path to sustainable data center growth. As Southeast Asia races to cement its place as a global digital powerhouse, its data center industry is expanding at breakneck speed. This also means electricity demand will keep on rising. Credit: Nordic Studio / Shutterstock.
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Therefore, ASEAN's energy transition hinges not just on ambition, but on infrastructure. Grid development is the connective tissue that will allow clean power to scale, flow, and deliver on its promise. The region should treat the grid as the foundation of a modern, prosperous and decarbonized energy system.
Should ASEAN deploy large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) with battery storage?
And as solar is abundant in all AMSs, it is incumbent upon ASEAN to deploy large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) with battery storage, which this study accordingly thoroughly analyzes, as previously mentioned.
“Data center growth is straining ASEAN's coal- and gas-heavy power grids,” Pritesh Swamy, Head of Data Centre Research & Insights, Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield, said as quoted in a statement on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
What is ASEAN's energy supply?
ASEAN's energy supply was 616 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2017, and it is expected to grow to 2006 Mtoe by 2060 in the BAU or Baseline scenario, per Fig. 3 and Table 1. Coal, oil, and natural gas accounted for approximately 80.06% in 2017, and are forecast to reach 85.09% in 2060 in the BAU scenario. Source Authors' calculations