US-based renewable energy developer UVCell Solar and Southeast Asian data center developer Iozela Data Center have signed a strategic agreement to develop a data center complex and renewable energy hub in Malaysia.
The partners will develop a new data center campus in Penang, Malaysia. The data center will focus on sustainability, incorporating nature with technology to avoid disrupting the local environment.
The partners envision the development as a model for ESG-compliant technology and aim to integrate full facilities, including a management office, staff accommodation, and a green plantation farm, to enhance the project's overall ESG impact.
The capacity and size of the data center campus were not disclosed.
UVCell will develop a renewable energy hub in Pahang, Malaysia, to power the facility. The hub will comprise solar and biomass farms, which are expected to generate 300MW to 500MW of power.
UVCell will also establish a management office in Pahang to oversee the development and operations of the renewable projects.
The two companies plan to partner with “top-tier” vendors in Japan, China, the USA, and Singapore. The vendors will bring technological expertise in renewable energy, data infrastructure, and sustainability.
The partners aim to use local workers in Malaysia, focusing on training and employing skilled professionals from the surrounding communities in Penang and Pahang.
Malaysia’s data center sector is expected to grow significantly over the remainder of the decade, from 710MW in 2024 to 1.36GW by 2029.
Several significant announcements were made in the country in 2024. In October, Google broke ground on its first data center in Malaysia. The $2 billion campus is located at the Elmina Business Park outside Kuala Lumpur.
Before this, in August, Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched a Malaysian cloud region. Plans for the cloud region were first shared in March last year. AWS followed the announcement with a pledge to invest $6 billion in Malaysia by 2037.