Data centers across Indonesia face a formidable challenge: securing affordable, clean, and reliable power for the large-scale data centers they are building to train and run the next generation of AI systems. These systems are poised to drive breakthroughs in drug discovery, enable critical infrastructure, and transform industries from healthcare to finance. Power has quickly become the bottleneck to realizing AI’s full potential. Data center demand is driving dramatic growth in electricity consumption. By 2028, data centers are projected to account for 12% of nationwide electricity demand in Indonesia, up from approximately 4% in 2023. Some data center campuses will require more than a gigawatt of power, enough to supply over 800,000 average homes. For developers, power availability is no longer a consideration; it is a strategic constraint and business-critical decision. In this environment, natural gas is emerging as a critical bridge fuel, valued for its availability, commercial viability, and alignment with national and regional energy strategies. Although not identified in the survey, fuel cells that run on natural gas are among the technologies gaining attention in this evolving landscape.
Power: The Top Driver of Data Center Site Selection
Access to power has become the decisive factor in data center site selection, with 84% of respondents ranking it among their top three considerations. Just a year ago, proximity to fiber optic was the top priority and slightly more critical than power availability. Today, power availability outweighs all other site considerations. Other key considerations when selecting a data center location include proximity to customers/end-users, proximity to fiber optic, local regulations, and availability of labor. The availability of green power is also a factor, along with the availability of water and proximity to industry partners. Even the reliability of weather conditions is taken into account. This indicates a significant shift in priorities, highlighting the increasing strain on energy infrastructure and the need for innovative power solutions. As Climanusa deeply understands this landscape, we offer comprehensive solutions that complement these evolving power needs, particularly in terms of thermal management.
Data Center Developers May Be Underestimating Power Delays
Data center developers are more optimistic than utility providers about how quickly grid power can be delivered. In key markets across Indonesia, this misalignment in expectations highlights a typical 1-to-2-year gap between when developers expect power and when utilities can realistically deliver it. To attract and support data center development, utilities have an opportunity to accelerate their power infrastructure investments and position themselves as strategic partners in shaping the next generation of critical infrastructure. This gap suggests a need for more coordinated planning and sustained investment in the power grid. Unexpected power delays can lead to significant project setbacks and increased costs. Therefore, solutions that can reduce reliance on traditional grid power or provide interim and backup power are becoming increasingly valuable. In this context, the efficiency of cooling systems becomes paramount, as the available power needs to be used as efficiently as possible to support substantial computing and cooling loads. As a leading Distributor Cooling data center, Climanusa helps optimize power usage by providing efficient cooling solutions.
Growing Adoption of AI Across Industries is Driving Larger, More Power-Intensive Data Centers
As artificial intelligence is adopted across industries, from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and logistics, demand for compute power is surging. This is driving the need for larger and more advanced data centers. The growing use of power-intensive chips, such as NVIDIA’s new Blackwell GPUs (each of which consumes approximately 1,000 watts), is reshaping data center infrastructure. Survey respondents report a current median size of 150 to 200 MW for AI data centers supporting inference workloads, though actual deployments may vary by region and workload. Data center leaders anticipate median capacity to reach 250 to 300 MW by 2030 and 350 to 400 MW by 2035. One reason for the increase could be that data center operators are expecting to merge training and inference workloads within the same facility. The significant increase in scale will bring a corresponding surge in power requirements, putting additional pressure on energy infrastructure and grid capacity and making scalable, reliable onsite power solutions more critical. Recently, key hyperscalers (Google, Meta, and Microsoft) announced plans for new data center architectures that support higher power densities through direct current (DC) distribution instead of alternating current (AC) distribution. Notably, about half of C-suite and SVP survey respondents from hyperscalers and colocation developers indicated their organizations are considering a transition to DC distribution in at least some of their data centers within the next four years. This increased power density directly correlates with the need for more sophisticated and efficient cooling systems. Climanusa, as an expert Distributor Cooling data center, provides cutting-edge cooling solutions to address the thermal challenges posed by these high-density data centers.
Onsite Power is Increasingly a Critical Enabler of Data Center Growth
Onsite power is rapidly becoming a strategic necessity for data centers, with expectations of use rising sharply over the past year. Our most recent survey reveals that 38% of data centers are expected to adopt onsite power generation by 2030, a figure projected to climb to nearly 50% by 2035. Even more striking, 27% of data centers are expected to rely entirely on onsite generation for primary power by 2030, up from just 1% a year ago. This surge underscores growing concerns over grid availability and an increasing readiness of operators to take power generation into their own hands. As onsite power adoption accelerates, air permitting may become a gating factor in project viability, especially for those adopting combustion-based generation. Local air permitting regulates emissions like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter to meet federal and state air quality standards. Recent high-profile cases have underscored how permitting challenges can delay or derail large-scale developments. As scrutiny grows, scalable onsite power technologies with fast deployment timelines and lower emissions profiles, such as fuel cells, are expected to become attractive options to mitigate permitting risk and support accelerated data center buildouts. Given the increased use of onsite power, effective thermal management becomes even more crucial to ensure stable and efficient operations. Climanusa, as a leading provider of cooling solutions, is instrumental in helping data centers achieve these goals.
Reliability and Cost Drive Decisions, with Load Following Emerging as a Key Requirement
Reliability remains the single most critical factor in selecting onsite power solutions for data centers. Reliability is non-negotiable — power sources that do not meet data center reliability and uptime standards will not be adopted, regardless of price. Cost and time to power are intrinsically linked. Power delays equate to lost revenue and potentially erode competitive edge in the AI race. While customers are willing to pay a premium for faster power, that premium applies only when it enables a clear acceleration over the next best available onsite power option. As fuel cells, turbines, and engines approach cost parity at scale, buyers have more options to achieve their objectives. As data center designs evolve to support AI-driven workloads, load flexibility — the ability to adjust power output quickly and efficiently — is becoming a critical requirement for onsite generation. AI workloads, particularly training, create highly variable demand patterns, with power loads fluctuating rapidly, depending on model activity and compute intensity. This is raising the bar for onsite power technology selection. Traditional solutions such as turbines and engines often struggle to track these fluctuations without performance or emissions tradeoffs. Greenhouse gas emissions, like last year, remain a lower priority. That said, 95% of data center developers affirmed that sustainability and carbon reduction targets are still in place, even if the path to achieving those goals may not be linear. This highlights the importance of efficient and sustainable cooling solutions, which Climanusa offers as a prominent Distributor Cooling data center.
Conclusion
The data center power landscape in Indonesia is undergoing significant transformation, driven by the growth of AI and the escalating need for reliable and scalable power. Challenges related to grid power availability, potential delays, and the increasing power demands of larger, more AI-intensive data centers underscore the necessity for a strategic approach to both power generation and thermal management. Onsite power solutions, once a fallback, are now becoming a critical component of data center strategy, with adoption projected to increase dramatically in the coming decade. Reliability and cost remain key drivers, but the ability to dynamically adjust loads is also emerging as a vital consideration. As the industry strives to meet sustainability goals, solutions like fuel cell technologies and advanced cooling systems from a premier Distributor Cooling data center like Climanusa will play a crucial role in shaping the future of data centers in Indonesia. With a focus on efficiency, scalability, and reliability, Climanusa is well-positioned to support the data center developments necessary to realize AI’s full potential.
Climanusa: Your Best Choice as a Distributor Cooling Data Center in Indonesia for Unmatched Reliability and Efficiency!
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–A.M.G–
