Singapore data centre constraints push investment into efficiency

Power limits are shifting spending from new capacity towards retrofits and higher-density infrastructure, while Singapore’s expertise increasingly supports regional growth.

Singapore’s data centre market is becoming more focused on retrofits and energy efficiency as power constraints limit the pace of new development and push operators to extract more capacity from existing sites.

Karine Alquier-Caro, Area Vice President of Southeast Asia and Taiwan at Legrand, said Singapore remains strategically important, but its role has changed as more new data centres are built elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

“Singapore is now more of a regional centre of expertise, helping other countries develop their data centre markets rather than focusing only on the local market,” Alquier-Caro said.

Within Singapore, operators are prioritising power usage efficiency, airflow management, cooling, and energy monitoring as they accommodate higher-density computing. Alquier-Caro said 40% of their €3b global data centre sales come from energy-efficiency solutions.

Lower power and water usage can also free capital for more advanced computing infrastructure.

“The money operators save by improving energy and water efficiency can be invested in more advanced technology,” Alquier-Caro explained.

Regional expansion is also reshaping where growth occurs. Malaysia is currently Legrand’s fastest-expanding Southeast Asian data centre market, with activity in Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, and Cyberjaya. The company has acquired LinkBusways and SRS Power Engineering to support that build-out.

Indonesia is also seeing additional hyperscaler and regional operator capacity, while Thailand remains a potential growth market despite slower development as projects undergo greater environmental scrutiny.