Apac data centre capacity to double by 2030, AI boom creating ‘generational shift’ in power demand: JLL
Data collected by the property consultancy presents that Apac information centre capacity will hop from 32 gigawatts (GW) to 57 GW by 2030. Globally, data centre capacity is anticipated to hit 200GW already, steered largely by hyperscale cloud expansion and AI demand.
In any case, securing power supply is now top of mind for information center investors in Apac, said James Cameron, JLL’s head of energy and facilities for the region. “In liberalised industry in Apac, including Australia, India, Japan and the Philippines, position and location of grid link is the very first concern for investors and has the biggest evaluation influence for development assets.”
That change has emphatically improved the information center landscape, with grid framework now emerging as the primary restraint. “Power demand is climbing quicker than grids were built to manage,” commented Matt Eastwick, JLL’s US group head and senior managing supervisor for energy and infrastructure.
The AI and data centre growth has actually led to a “generational change in energy need”, stated Steven Jack, the business’s head of energy and infrastructure for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in a Sept 8 release. “Utilities that were figuring small development are currently grappling with numbers virtually double their previous estimates.”
The restraints are producing new opportunities in related markets. One such possibility depends on battery energy storage systems (BESS), that JLL posits will certainly play an increasingly important role in handling limited grid access and renewable energy intermittency. “They serve as shock shields for constricted grids, charging when power is cheap and abundant, after that discharging when demand and price are high,” stated Eastwick.
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Consequently, grid access is increasingly driving decision-making for developers, data centre drivers, energy firms, and tech business. “For any energy developer, without having a grid connection, you do not have a project,” Jack detailed. “For financiers, this grid blockage translates straight into risk, yet it likewise develops a scarcity costs for assets that give or obtain grid access.”
While data centre build-out still surpasses grid preparation in a number of Apac markets, Cameron expects regional dynamics and grid access challenges to drive new partnership versions. “Whilst the solution will differ depending upon scenarios, it is clear we will see a lot more collaboration possibilities and innovative solutions between data centre and power customers throughout the area.”
At the same time, grid access challenges are motivating industry players to become direct participants in the energy market, with some technology companies opting to straight up purchase operating renewable assets to guarantee energy supply, according to JLL.
Against this backdrop, hyperscalers have disclosed US$ 200 billion ($ 253 billion) in infrastructure spending for 2026, up 51% from 2025. However, regardless of the document capital investment, interconnection lines up for brand-new renewable projects currently reach four years or even more in some regions, with certain areas forced to pause new links totally, according to JLL.
Amid a decentralised increase of brand-new renewable resource resources, presenting transmission infrastructure– initially created for large, centralised power stations– has struggled to cope, resulting in considerable grid congestion around the world.
Data centre capability in Asia Pacific (Apac) is predicted to nearly two times by 2020, as AI-fuelled development turns around a decades-long pattern of steady or declining electricity demand, according to study by JLL.
