Data centre industry touts economic benefits

Thailand's data centre sector is making a strong economic case to the government, arguing that the country's surplus power capacity represents an untapped national asset rather than a source of strain on resources.

According to the Thailand Data Centre Association, the sector's direct contribution to GDP could rise from around 0.93% to 2.47% over five years, supported by approximately 2 trillion baht in capital inflows along with significant fiscal revenue and private sector spillovers.

The association projects that Thailand's actual gross data centre capacity will grow from around 1,400 megawatts in 2026 to approximately 3,700MW by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 27.2%. Supparat Singhara na Ayutthaya, general manager of DAMAC Digital and vice-chairman of the association, told the Bangkok Post that this growth trajectory sits comfortably within Thailand's existing national power headroom. The country currently has around 53 gigawatts of installed generation capacity against peak demand of approximately 35.9GW, leaving a reserve margin of roughly 27%.

The association also pushed back on what it described as a misleading figure circulating in public debate, namely nearly 30,000MW of power reservation requests from data centre operators. Mr Supparat clarified that this number reflects accumulated reservation requests including speculative, duplicated and early-stage enquiries, and does not represent committed electricity demand. On that basis, he argued that policy should be built around realistic committed demand rather than the larger volume of preliminary requests.

The association supports the government's move toward firmer reservation commitments and deposits, which it says would filter out speculative applications and ensure only serious investors stand behind their capacity requests.

The broader argument is that idle generation capacity earns little while sitting unused, and data centres offer a way to convert that surplus into revenue, foreign exchange and tax receipts for the country.

However, the article notes the association also acknowledged two practical constraints: location and fuel mix, though the source article does not detail the conclusions on those points.

For investors and business owners in Thailand, developments like this can influence the broader regulatory and infrastructure environment in which companies operate, making it worth following how government policy evolves in response to industry input.

SLF Legal advises on business establishment, investment structures and regulatory compliance in Thailand. Feel free to reach out if you have questions about operating or investing here.