Thailand hoping to champion green data centers in the region

As the demand for green data centers increases, Thailand has taken a step towards making it a reality. During the 2022 APEC Summit, it was clear that Thailand is trying to strike a balance between performance and sustainability, prioritizing recovery and growth, while keeping an eye on consistent sustainable development that will allow the country to thrive for years to come.

Digital transformation, integrated across all aspects of society, has already been identified as one of the key components to driving the country’s overall economic competitiveness, and many already understand that there is only one way to embrace Thailand 4.0: sustainably. Several industries are gradually ‘going green’, including green finance, green transportation powered by EVs (electric vehicles), and green hotel standards.

It’s certain that Thailand’s green data centers initiative is being prioritized. Thailand is already leading the way with the region’s most advanced data center for colocation and cloud services, one that generates its own renewable energy.

For example, SUPERNAP (Thailand), a joint venture between leading Thai companies and Switch, the global leader in data center ecosystems and designs, is the only Tier IV colocation and cloud data center in the country to have implemented a solar panel farm. This move contributes to the development of the green digital infrastructure of the region, while also supporting Thailand’s long-term sustainable economic development.

As Thailand’s digital population grows, so does the demand for faster and better digital services. Data centers in Thailand are already dealing with huge amounts of data and will require larger spaces and more energy to keep the ecosystem running, which, in most cases, comes from electricity from fossil fuels. For businesses, the more data collected and stored, the more knowledge, opportunities, and competitive advantage they gain.

However, if no action is taken, this could not only lead to a problematic increase in greenhouse gas emissions but also dangerous price fluctuations, as there have been recent electricity price increases, influenced by geopolitical challenges and increasing demand. Thai businesses are looking for secure, scalable, resilient, and now sustainable, data centers to fully realize the potential of data while reducing costs.

For Yap Jin Yi, CEO of SUPERNAP (Thailand), as a regional digital infrastructure leader, SUPERNAP (Thailand)’s transition to renewable energy was already an urgent priority, and the company is now proud to have reinforced its position as Thailand’s most sustainable commercial data center.

“Powering operations by solar panel farm will not only help us reduce the carbon footprint on behalf of our colocation and cloud clients, but will also minimize the impact of energy price fluctuations. While we are not immune to rising electricity costs, solar green energy from the solar panel farm is significantly cheaper than retail rates, which will allow us to keep prices as low as possible, and ultimately enable customers success stories with highly secure, scalable, resilient, and now sustainable digital IT infrastructure” added Yap.

SUPERNAP (Thailand) has partnered with WHA Utilities and Power, Thailand’s leading utilities and power service provider, to build its solar panel farm, recognizing WHA’s leadership in maximizing innovation and technology to create long-term sustainable value in the country.

“Thailand’s economy will leverage emerging digital technologies to solve the most pressing problems and drive growth, whether in finance, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, or tourism. Data-driven technology has the potential to shape the future in new and unimaginable ways, but first, businesses and individuals must ensure that there is a future to look forward to. Embracing sustainability is a pressing matter, and change must begin immediately,” the company stated further.

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