As DC-CFA2 opens, here's what we know and what to expect
Stringent efficiency requirements and mandatory green power sources will define DC-CFA2.
What will Singapore's DC-CFA2 bring? As operators gear up for the largest allocation of data centre capacity in recent years, what can we expect?
With the starting lines now drawn, I figured today is a good day to review what we know about Lion City's data centre journey and what possibly lies ahead.
Singapore, data centre hub
Singapore is a well-established data centre hub. Thanks to foresight and early policy support, it now boasts 1,400MW of live data centres.
It's tempting to dismiss Singapore, especially when one looks at the numbers. Modern data centres have swelled in size, and campuses in the hundreds of MWs are now common.
But the maturity, sheer variety of workloads, and the many subsea cables that land in Singapore have made it into a unique hub with an ecosystem that is non-trivial to replicate.
Dawn of a new era
But things change. First sustainability, then AI.
As a multi-trillion-dollar rush began for AI, Singapore found itself in a dilemma. It cannot afford unrestrained power use by data centres. But it needs to allow at least some to stay in the game.
On May 31st, 2024, Singapore unveiled its response with the Green Data Centre Roadmap. In a nutshell, the strategy revolves around reducing the burden of compute, building more efficient data centres, and moving to green energy sources.
And it dangled a 300MW carrot for new data centres, with additional capacity available for data centres powered by green power.
The road ahead
Which brings us to where we are today. The 300MW. I've written on it last year - dissecting Singapore's 300MW allotment for data centres and what's next for data centres in Singapore.
The DC-CFA2, touted as an avenue to access capacity for new data centres in Singapore, is expected to allocate a large proportion of the 300MW, but not all of it. It is also expected to specify stringent new efficiency requirements and mandate a certain proportion of greener power sources.
Who will enter the fray given the appeal of Singapore? It's hard to tell, but a post by Srini Rao today got me thinking. And I think the smaller players won't have a chance.
While you wait, you might want to check out my recent Substack on why I think Singapore's data centre restraint is actually a power play.
What do you think?
