Malaysia Introduces Green Data‑Centre Rules to Balance Growth and Sustainability

Data centres have become a focal point in global commercial real‑estate investment. Despite market swings driven by mixed sentiment around artificial intelligence (AI), the sector’s fundamentals remain robust. JLL reports that occupancy stands at 97% worldwide, with 77% of planned capacity already pre‑committed by tenants. Leading hyperscalers such as Amazon and Meta occupy over half of the available space, providing landlords with stability and driving a surge in property fundraising for data‑centre projects.

The market, however, has reached a pivotal moment. The rapid expansion of AI workloads is intensifying pressures on power supply, land access, sustainability standards and community acceptance. In the United States, a strong backlash against data‑centre development has emerged, becoming “a structural constraint on AI infrastructure” and spreading into broader anti‑AI sentiment, according to a Jefferies report.

During the first quarter of the year, at least 75 data‑centre projects—totaling roughly US$130 billion—have been delayed or blocked by local opposition, approaching the value of projects halted in 2025 as a whole.

New York became the first U.S. state to impose a temporary ban on new large‑scale data‑centre construction, citing concerns over the strain on energy and water resources caused by rapid development.

Legislators in more than a dozen additional states are considering similar moratoriums. Research group Data Centre Watch notes that these bans have evolved from isolated local actions into a multi‑front political battle.

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