Thailand Pushes for Clearer Data Center Rules, Green Energy

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has called for clearer laws and regulations governing Thailand’s growing data center industry, while urging greater use of renewable energy. Anutin, who also serves as interior minister, made the remarks on Friday at Government House while chairing the first meeting of the Data Center Business Policy Committee for 2026. He said data centers are essential infrastructure for Thailand’s digital economy but could place heavy demands on electricity, water, land and other public utilities, while raising environmental and cybersecurity concerns. "Data centers are the foundation of the digital economy," Anutin said, adding that regulations must keep pace with technological development and protect the public. He said Thailand should not simply attract data center investment, but use it to bring related industries into the country, promote technology transfers, develop Thai workers and strengthen the digital ecosystem. Anutin instructed the committee to consider clearer legal definitions for data centers, Green Data Center standards, renewable energy use, data protection, cybersecurity and support for AI and cloud industries. He also raised concerns over businesses seeking large amounts of electricity capacity in advance, citing preliminary applications totaling around 20,000 megawatts. "We are not saying that we will never build data centers again. We need to put them in order," he said. Anutin stressed that data centers’ high electricity consumption should be increasingly supported by green energy, including solar and wind power, rather than fossil fuels and generators. In Bangkok, authorities are reviewing data center permits following complaints concerning fuel smells and generator noise. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said that six data centers had been established in Bangkok, but only three had received permits, with the facilities applying under the classification of warehouses because Thai law had not clearly defined standalone data centers. Chadchart said the three permitted facilities had not been ordered to suspend operations while relevant agencies continued their assessments. He said the government should consider updating laws covering urban planning, building controls and environmental impact assessments to reflect the emergence of standalone data centers. "Data centers were never included in the definition. The law may not have kept pace," Chadchart said.