Malaysian clean energy solutions company Gentari Renewables has partnered with Malaysian engineering and infrastructure giant Gamuda to build a solar-plus-storage portfolio in its home country.
The companies aim to build 1.5GW of solar PV paired with battery energy storage systems (BESS). This portfolio is aimed at meeting the energy demands of hyperscale data centre players in Malaysia.
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According to the companies, the power needed from cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital services from data centres in the country will reach 5GW by 2035.
“Malaysia’s digital economy is growing rapidly, bringing with it rising demand for reliable and sustainable power. Expanding renewable energy capacity is not only critical for meeting this demand but also key to driving long-term growth,” said Low Kian Min, chief renewables officer at Gentari.
The construction of renewable energy capacity to meet the energy demand of the global data centre sector is becoming more common. A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this year said that the energy demand from AI-driven data centres would more than double by 2030, to more than 945TWh annually. In Europe, the electricity demand from data centres is expected to see a “moderate” increase across the continent, with the exception of Ireland.
The partnership was established under Malaysia’s Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) network in September 2024, which allows corporations to directly contract renewable energy with developers. The scheme aims to boost the country’s renewables growth and reach 70% of renewable energy by 2050.
Gentari currently has more than 8GW of renewable energy capacity operational and under construction. The company recently started construction on 243MW solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales, Australia. The DC-coupled solar PV will be paired with 172MW/409MWh BESS and is forecast to begin commercial operations in early 2027.
