Climate and cooling, 2016–2025
Malaysia is not too hot for dry cooling. Across 11 data-centre districts, outside air passed 32°C for only 13–142 hours a year from 2016 to 2025, under 2% of the time, and the hottest hour in ten years was 33.8–36.1°C. Rain is frequent: the longest dry spell was 7–17 days, and the driest 60 days still brought 63–165 mm.
Average of 2016–2025. Hourly ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (Copernicus). Analysis: Croutons Research, November 2026.
| District | State | Hours/yr above 30°C | Hours/yr above 32°C | Hottest hour | Rain, average / driest year | Rain in driest 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kulai / Sedenak | Johor | 443 | 33 | 35.5°C | 3,008 / 2,249 mm | 150 mm |
| Iskandar Puteri | Johor | 516 | 48 | 35.8°C | 2,873 / 2,354 mm | 135 mm |
| Pasir Gudang | Johor | 633 | 63 | 36.0°C | 3,274 / 2,578 mm | 136 mm |
| Pengerang | Johor | 246 | 13 | 34.2°C | 2,600 / 1,962 mm | 63 mm |
| Cyberjaya | Selangor | 834 | 112 | 35.7°C | 3,308 / 2,439 mm | 124 mm |
| Banting | Selangor | 677 | 34 | 33.8°C | 3,592 / 2,621 mm | 117 mm |
| Nilai | Negeri Sembilan | 910 | 142 | 36.0°C | 3,110 / 2,390 mm | 123 mm |
| Port Dickson | Negeri Sembilan | 618 | 47 | 35.0°C | 3,013 / 2,161 mm | 119 mm |
| Kulim | Kedah | 872 | 138 | 36.1°C | 3,822 / 2,127 mm | 70 mm |
| Bayan Lepas | Penang | 312 | 18 | 34.5°C | 3,533 / 2,207 mm | 115 mm |
| Kota Samarahan | Sarawak | 730 | 109 | 35.2°C | 4,043 / 2,823 mm | 165 mm |
Download the table as CSV, free to reuse with credit (CC BY 4.0). Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
What it means for cooling
- The cooling-water temperature a hall is designed for decides its water use more than its location does. With warm-water liquid cooling at 40°C or more and dry coolers running about 6°C above outside air, heat can go to outside air whenever it is below about 34°C. Every district’s hottest hour in ten years was 33.8–36.1°C.
- Evaporative water is then needed only for peak hours. Our estimate for a 20 MW hall is about 4,500 m³ a year of top-up for about 150 peak hours, against about 44,000 m³ of rain a year on a 2-hectare roof in a dry year (about 2,200 mm).
- Coastal sites have the mildest peaks: Pengerang (13 hours a year above 32°C), Bayan Lepas (18) and Banting (34, with the lowest ten-year peak, 33.8°C). The inland belt runs hottest: Nilai (142), Kulim (138) and Cyberjaya (112).
- Pengerang is the mildest and also the driest district in the set, with 1,962 mm in its driest year.
Caveats. ERA5 is a 9–25 km grid that smooths peaks, so real peaks, especially in urban Cyberjaya, run hotter. Treat the hour counts as lower bounds and use MetMalaysia station data or ASHRAE design conditions for engineering. ERA5 rainfall can read high against rain gauges. The water figures are our engineering estimates, not measurements.
Last checked 8 November 2026
Figures that conflict, and which we use
Several Malaysian data-centre figures circulate in two versions. These are the ones we use, and why.
| Figure | Versions in circulation | What we use |
|---|---|---|
| Operating data centres, Peninsular | 45 centres on 6.04 GW (Aug 2026), or 57 centres needing 6,237 MW | Both are official; they differ by scope. Quote the scope and date with either. |
| Approved data-centre water, 2025–2030 | 445.04 MLD (Oct 2026), or 514 MLD (Nov 2025 projection) | Use 445.04 MLD. The 514 MLD projection is superseded. |
| 2030 data-centre peak demand | 8.39 GW, or 12.9 GW | Use the ministry’s 8.39 GW. We found no traceable source for 12.9 GW. |
| YTL Green Data Center Park, Kulai | Up to 1.2 GW planned (Aug 2026), or 500 MW (original billing) | Use the newer figure and say it is planned; 150 MW was delivered by Jun 2026. |
| Vena Nexus, Negeri Sembilan | 350 MW (w.media, Jun 2026), or 450 MW (RHB, Oct 2026) | Neither says whether it is a phase or full build-out. Show both. |
| Johor capacity | JLL (Apr 2026): 850 MW operational. Cushman & Wakefield (H1 2026): 1,110 MW operational | Broker counts differ by method. Show both, named. |
| Sea level rise by 2100 | NAHRIM: 0.67–0.71 m for Peninsular Malaysia. A 2012 PLANMalaysia dashboard: 2.66 m at Kukup, Johor | Use NAHRIM. |
| Grid emission factor | 0.758 kg CO₂e/kWh (2021, used in the MITI guideline), or 0.740 (2024, provisional) | Use 0.740 for current estimates and say the guideline uses 0.758. |
| National Data Centre Framework | Promised for October 2025 | We found no record that it was issued. The current track is the October 2026 strategic direction and a Data Centre Bill due at Cabinet in 2027. |
Last checked 8 November 2026
What is not public
These are the facts an investor most wants and the public record does not hold. Anything claiming to know them for a site should say where the data came from.
| Not public | Why it matters | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Spare grid capacity by substation; a TNB grid map | The biggest siting factor | Confirmed by TNB, site by site |
| JPS flood hazard maps | Site-level flood risk | Request JPS data for the site |
| Water allocation per site | Approval risk | Granted per application by the state |
| Water reserve margins for Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Kedah | Supply risk outside Johor and Selangor | Not published |
| Approval timelines | Investment planning | No service standard is published |
| A written definition of “AI data centre” | Whether a project qualifies after 24 Feb 2026 | None published as of Nov 2026 |
| Official MW capacity by state; park boundaries | Market sizing and mapping | Only broker counts and announcements |
| Terrestrial fibre routes; an independent Johor–Singapore latency figure | Connectivity claims | Under 3 ms is a vendor claim |
Last checked 8 November 2026
DESAC and EECA in full
DESAC incentive
| Term | What it says |
|---|---|
| Who | Qualifying data centres, new and existing companies |
| New companies | Investment tax allowance of 100% (Tier 1) or 60% (Tier 2) of qualifying capex, against up to 100% of statutory income, for 5 or 10 years. Or a special tax rate of 10% (Tier 1) or 15% (Tier 2) instead, excluding IP income |
| Existing companies | Investment tax allowance of 60% or 30%, against up to 70% of statutory income, for 5 years |
| Tier 1 threshold | RM1bn of capex (existing companies: RM300m over 5 years) |
| Conditions | RM2.5m paid-up capital; at least 50% Malaysian staff earning RM5,000 or more a month; at least one green technology; at least two local vendor programmes; Industry 4.0 elements |
| Application window | 1 Jan 2022 to 31 Dec 2027, before the first sales invoice |
| Efficiency targets | MITI’s proposed design PUE (1.4, 1.6 or 1.7 by size and type) and recommended design WUE of 2.2 m³/MWh apply to applicants. They are not operating limits |
Source: MIDA DESAC guideline; MITI Guidelines for Sustainable Development of Data Centres.
EECA 2024 (Act 861)
| Term | What it says |
|---|---|
| Threshold | 21,600 GJ or more of electricity and fuels together in any 12 consecutive months (6,000 MWh, about 0.68 MW of average load) |
| Where | Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan; not Sabah or Sarawak |
| In force | 1 January 2025. Duties start when the Energy Commission serves written notice |
| Registered Energy Manager | Appointed within 3 months of the notice |
| Energy management system | Within 1 year of that appointment |
| Reporting | A yearly report within 30 days after each year |
| Energy audit | First within 1 year of the notice, then every fifth year |
Source: Energy Commission; Efficient Energy Management Regulations 2024 (P.U.(A) 466/2024). Not confirmed: when the first notices were served.
Last checked 8 November 2026
Other findings
| Topic | Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Renewable energy rule | At least 30% renewable energy for the sector, approved Oct 2026. No effective date; not yet settled whether it is measured on capacity or consumption. Under CRESS, providers pay 14 sen/kWh and users a separate 4 sen/kWh | Malay Mail; w.media |
| New water supply | Ranhill SAJ estimates Johor needs about 1,000 MLD more by 2030 for all users, not data centres alone. Selangor is studying a 300 MLD desalination plant | The Star |
| Reclaimed water in Johor | Indah Water supplies 12 MLD of treated effluent to the Gelang Patah plant and 4 MLD to Ulu Tiram. A national reclamation policy is still being studied | The Star; theSun; Malay Mail |
| JS-SEZ 5% tax rate | Covers manufacturing in the AI and quantum supply chain, among other sectors, for 15 years above RM1bn of new investment or 10 years for RM500m to RM1bn. Data centres are not listed | MIDA JS-SEZ snapshot |
| Forest City 5% tax rate | Covers fintech, financial business services and foreign payment operators, with 0% for single family offices. Data centres are not eligible | Skrine; Malay Mail |
| Environmental assessment | Data centres are not a standalone prescribed activity under the EIA Order 2015, though other parts of a project can trigger an EIA | Legal commentary (Rajah & Tann) |
| Neighbour objections | The 21-day objection window is a general planning-law rule (Town and Country Planning Act s21(6)), not a data-centre rule | Planning law |
Last checked 8 November 2026
Public data and how it can be used
Which public datasets can be used to map Malaysian data-centre sites, and on what terms.
| Data | Publisher | Detail | Can it be used in maps? |
|---|---|---|---|
| District boundaries | DOSM | District | Yes, credited “Data source: Department of Statistics Malaysia” |
| Flood losses by state | DOSM | State | Yes, with the same credit |
| Live flood stations (InfoBanjir) | JPS | Station | Link only; no licence or export |
| Flood hazard maps | JPS | — | Not public |
| Sea level and flood projections to 2100 | NAHRIM | Region | Figures in text |
| Power lines and substations | OpenStreetMap | Feature | Yes, under ODbL, credited “© OpenStreetMap contributors” |
| Submarine cable routes | TeleGeography | Route | Credited screenshots only; tracing routes needs a paid licence |
| Landing stations | TM releases | Site | Yes, as points placed from the releases |
| Internet exchanges | Internet Society Pulse | City | Yes, as city points |
| Hourly weather (ERA5 reanalysis) | Open-Meteo, Copernicus | 9–25 km grid | Yes, under CC BY 4.0, credited to Open-Meteo |
| GADM boundaries; JUPEM base maps | GADM; JUPEM | — | No: GADM needs permission for commercial use; JUPEM is paid |
Last checked 8 November 2026