The growing demand for artificial intelligence is beginning to test Singapore’s infrastructure, which is challenged by limited land and rising energy requirements.
In light of Earth Day 2026, themed “Our Power, Our Planet”, Wendy Koh, vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific at Hitachi Vantara, said that the celebration “serves as a timely reminder that sustainability is no longer defined by policy ambition alone, but by the everyday decisions shaping how technology is built and used.”
Shaping the future
Koh said that the shift is evident in Asia Pacific, particularly in Singapore, with conversations moving beyond access to compute towards how efficiently digital infrastructure is designed and operated.
“With global data centre electricity consumption projected to approach 1,000 terawatt-hours by the end of the decade, the environmental cost of AI is becoming harder to ignore. This is especially relevant in a region where energy, land and cooling capacity are increasingly constrained,” Koh said.
She noted that AI’s impact on energy use is no longer confined to model training, as more organisations embed AI into everyday business processes, driving continuous demand for compute resources.
Next phase of growth
Koh said the region’s next phase of digital growth will be defined not only by scale but also by sustainable infrastructure planning and responsible system deployment.
“In this context, 'power' sits not only with governments, but with enterprises and through the choices they make to balance innovation with sustainability,” she concluded.
