Malaysia introduces new environmental regulations for data centres
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Global data centre occupancy reached 97 per cent at the end of last year, with 77 per cent of capacity under construction already committed to tenants. The sector faces an inflection point as AI workload growth highlights constraints including power availability, land access, sustainability requirements, and community resistance. In the United States, local opposition delayed or blocked at least 75 projects worth US$130 billion in the first quarter of this year, leading New York to impose a temporary construction ban due to energy and water resource concerns.
Consequences
Legislative bodies in more than a dozen US states are currently considering similar temporary bans on new facilities. These actions represent a transition from local exceptions to a broader multi-front political battle that serves as a structural constraint on the development of AI infrastructure.
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