Asia’s AI boom has a dirty secret: the coal that powers it

Asia's AI boom is driving a surge in coal consumption as tech hubs turn to the fossil fuel to power data centers, undermining clean energy goals. Analysts say AI demand is outpacing the rollout of renewable energy, forcing reliance on coal as a stopgap source. Local residents in Malaysia's Cyberjaya express concern over the environmental impact of expanding data center infrastructure.

Asia’s AI boom has a dirty secret: the coal that powers it In the rush to build the digital future, regional tech hubs are digging up the past Asia sits atop vast amounts of coal, nearly three-fifths of the world’s known reserves by some estimates. Cheaper and more reliable than imported oil and gas, and far less vulnerable to disruptions caused by foreign wars, coal is also dirty, polluting – and the region’s No 1 “stopgap source” to power the AI infrastructure roll-out. “AI demand is materialising faster than clean energy generation can be commissioned,” said Alexander Kheder, a market research analyst at BMI who tracks global AI infrastructure spending and data centre expansion. Solar and wind, for all their recent progress, still could not deliver the relentless, round-the-clock baseload that the data centres powering artificial intelligence demanded, he said. Malaysia https://www.scmp.com/topics/malaysia?module=inline&pgtype=article ’s pioneering smart city of Cyberjaya, dozens of data centres are already in operation, with more planned for the future. “The impact is going to be very, very visible,” said Adit Rahim, 49, a local resident and communications executive who worries about the strain all this development is placing on utilities.