The Singapore Energy Crisis is a looming issue as Singapore’s main gas supply, Indonesia, will stop supplying gas in 2023. This has resulted in Singapore’s need for more renewable energy sources to overcome the crisis.
Data Center in Singapore Threaten with Singapore Energy Crisis
A few months ago, Singapore was struggling with an energy shortage. The government urged the people to try and conserve energy as much as possible and told industries to do the same. Along with that, Indonesia stopped supplying gas to Singapore.
Singapore will have to be more careful about its gas usage as it looks for gas sources from other countries. This is where the newly found gas in Australia comes into play.
The data center in Singapore is threatened by the energy crisis that is happening in the country. The government is implementing policies to prevent the situation from worsening and making plans to ensure that the crisis ends as soon as possible. However, we could improve some things regarding this plan.
One of these problems is that the government needs more control over the situation, hoping it will end before implementing its policies. Another problem that they have is that they need more options when it comes to solving the crisis. This can be seen through their strategies which could be more effective in solving the situation.
Despite the local data centers increasing their capacity to accommodate the advanced cloud computing demand, they need to fully support the exponential power consumption growth. Due to this energy crisis, Amazon is threatening to shut down its part of the data center if nothing is done quickly.
If Amazon shuts down any part of its data center here in Singapore, it will have no choice but to move its cloud computing services out of Asia and back into the United States. This could impact over 1 billion people.
Read also: More Digital Things, More Carbon Emissions, and Global Warming
Data Center Expansion to Indonesia
Amazon already has a data center in Indonesia, which implies a large number of users that could be served well by the new expansion. Likewise, Google and Microsoft Azure opened a data center in Indonesia after several years of feeling comfortable in Singapore.
Indonesia has a great opportunity in the green data center market. With Singapore’s recent expansion of its data center capacity, it is an opportune time for Indonesia to move on to the growing green data center market. The Indonesian government should support this move by providing incentives to allow Singaporean data centers to be set up in Indonesia or promote awareness of the opportunity among their citizens and businesses.
The government has also made it a goal to improve the quality of life for the citizens. To this end, they’ve introduced many programs that promote the development of a green economy. Indonesia has plans to build 100 new hybrid data centers over the next few years as part of their “RISET CEPAT” initiative (English translation: Fast Track Plan).
These data centers will use renewable energy sources and byproducts from various industries to power their infrastructure. For example, organic waste from palm oil industries can be used as fertilizer for plants that provide cooling for nearby facilities. This initiative is beneficial from an economic standpoint; it will also significantly allow Indonesia to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while promoting sustainable development in the region.
While these changes are in progress, there are still many opportunities for existing providers to capitalize on the growing demand for green data centers in Indonesia.
In 2023 Gas Supply Contract Extended
The contract to supply natural gas to Singapore was due to expire in 2023, but the two countries have agreed on a new deal to extend it to 2028.
The energy minister from Indonesia said the new agreement would be ideal for the two countries because of their “close relationship.” He noted that Indonesia planned to supply additional gas to the market after its contract with Singapore ended, but extending it would help the government save money.
Natural gas prices have risen considerably over the past few years, increasing by around 80 percent since 2009 and forcing many companies, including some in Indonesia, out of business. This may be a significant reason why Indonesia wants to continue selling its gas at a stable rate rather than risk charging more if costs increase in the future.
Singapore is one of many countries heavily dependent on foreign sources of natural gas.
Singapore has long been one of the most developed nations in Southeast Asia, and it is a very densely populated island. Because it is so densely populated, many buildings require elevators—it just isn’t feasible to have facilities that go up dozens of stories. This means many establishments have large, heavy-duty elevators that use much power.
“And surprisingly, the country’s biggest power source comes from outside sources.”
Due to the lack of local sources of natural gas, Singapore is one of many countries worldwide that are heavily dependent on foreign sources of natural gas. Despite its abundance, most countries need more reserves and must look outside their borders for their supply. In Singapore, about 80 percent of its natural gas comes from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Although it has been improving its energy efficiency in homes and businesses, it has been unable to reduce its reliance upon foreign sources of natural gas.
Conclusion
With the recent expansion of Singapore’s data center capacity, Indonesia is poised to become a new hub for cloud computing in Southeast Asia. Singapore is the home to a large share of Asia-Pacific’s top cloud computing service providers, and its infrastructure is already set up for growth.
While demand surges, Singapore’s government plans to spend billions of dollars on a new nuclear plant that might be completed in 2030. Singapore has agreed to build an energy plant that relies on biomass and waste products from Indonesia. This will allow Singapore to meet 80% of its energy needs by 2015 and reach 100% sustainability by 2050.
Next: Green Data Center Standard in Indonesia Just Published