Malaysia's Next AI Growth Phase Depends On Energy, Infrastructure Planning - Schneider Electric
By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani
TAIPEI, June 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's next phase of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure growth will depend on disciplined planning across energy, digital infrastructure and sustainability, according to global energy technology company Schneider Electric.
The French multinational corporation, which specialises in energy management and industrial automation, emphasised that rising data centre demand places greater pressure on power systems and resource management.
The company’s business vice-president for Malaysia (Secure Power), Adrian Koh, said planning must begin at the earliest stages of development, including site selection, electrical architecture, cooling strategy, equipment efficiency, water management, access to renewable energy and operational monitoring.
"This matters because the energy and environmental impacts are no longer theoretical.
"Data centres require a stable electricity supply around the clock, and demand is expected to rise as AI and digital automation expand," he told Bernama on the sidelines of Computex 2026 here.
Koh highlighted three key priorities for Malaysia as data centre investments grow: efficiency, energy planning, and digital infrastructure planning, along with clear expectations for responsible data centre development.
He also said that Malaysia's AI Action Plan 2026-2030 provides a stronger policy foundation as AI infrastructure becomes increasingly linked to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, the energy transition and digital services, while the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) supports the growth of AI by facilitating sufficient, reliable and greener energy supply.
As demand from data centres and digital industries grows, Malaysia needs to strengthen grid resilience, enhance access to cleaner energy, and improve energy efficiency across its facilities.
"This is where energy management, automation, and digital intelligence become critical, enabling operators to manage energy demand more precisely while supporting uptime and sustainability goals," said Koh.
He said the next phase of Malaysia's digital infrastructure growth would also depend on reliability, execution speed, energy resilience, sustainability performance and talent availability, with investors increasingly seeking locations capable of delivering not just capacity, but trusted and efficient capacity.
On the policy front, Koh stressed the importance of aligning power demand planning, renewable energy access, energy efficiency and grid connection strategies.
He said clearer direction on energy access, renewable procurement, efficiency standards, water stewardship and talent development would further strengthen Malaysia's position as a long-term digital infrastructure hub.
Koh proposed that data centres be developed within a comprehensive energy ecosystem, considering the entire value chain from power distribution and uninterruptible power supply to cooling, automation, software, and monitoring.
"The more closely Malaysia aligns its AI, energy transition, and skills agendas, the stronger its position will be as a long-term digital infrastructure hub," he said.
-- BERNAMA