Data centre test bed on Jurong Island to trial use of green energy sources

It is among new projects in push for fossil fuel-reliant island to reinvent itself

- Shabana Begum Correspondent

A data centre test bed will be built on Jurong Island for researchers and operators to trial the use of green technologies in powering such energy-guzzling facilities, the authorities announced on Nov 24.

This builds on an earlier announcement about how the industrial island will host Singapore’s largest low-carbon data centre park on 20ha of land there. This is about the size of 25 football fields.

The pilot-scale data centre is expected to be powered by green energy sources like solar power and biofuels, while being equipped to support the intensive computing needs of artificial intelligence (AI).

The test bed will be located within the area set aside for the low-carbon data centre park, and JTC and the National University of Singapore will commence a study in 2026 on establishing the facility.

The tie-up between industrial developer JTC and NUS was one of six new partnerships announced by JTC and the Economic Development Board on Nov 24, to mark Jurong Island’s 25th anniversary.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said at the anniversary event: “The global energy and chemicals industry, once built around scale and cost-efficiency, is being reshaped by new technologies, the pressure to decarbonise and rising demand for higher-quality and greener products.”

The industrial island must therefore reinvent itself to stay competitive and relevant, said DPM Gan at the Pan Pacific Orchard.

Data centres are the physical infrastructure that shapes the virtual world, allowing people to stream Netflix, scroll social media and ask AI-driven chatbots questions.