Southeast Asia Revisits Nuclear Power Plans For AI Data Centers
Bangkok : Nuclear power is being considered for a second time in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet rising energy demand as they compete for AI-driven data centers.
Many Southeast Asian countries are reviving shelved nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets, and if they pursue them, nearly half the region could be nuclear powered by the 2030s. Even countries with no current plans have signaled interest.
Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But this may soon change as pressures mount to meet growing power needs while reducing emissions that contribute to climate change.
Analysts say the Iran war underscores the fragility of Asia’s energy supplies and increases the sense of urgency in finding alternatives to oil and gas in Southeast Asia.
Alvie Asuncion-Astronomo of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute said the rise in crude oil prices due to escalating conflict has increased the motivation of countries to accelerate their nuclear efforts.
Vietnam and Russia put forward a nuclear energy deal this week as concerns about the region’s energy security worsen. In South Asia, Bangladesh is trying to strengthen its new nuclear power plant, which is also supported by Russia, in order to address the country’s energy deficits.
Southeast Asia will account for a quarter of growth in global energy demand by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency, or IEA. This is partly due to more than 2,000 data centers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, according to think tank Ember.
Many more data centers are under construction.
This is most evident in Malaysia, which aims to become the AI computing hub of Southeast Asia and has attracted investment and interest from tech giants such as Microsoft, Google and Nvidia.
Southeast Asia’s resurgence of nuclear interest reflects a global trend.
Nearly 40 countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea and China, have joined a global initiative to triple installed nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Southeast Asia will account for almost a quarter of the 157 gigawatts expected from “nuclear newcomer countries” by mid-century, according to the industry-backed World Nuclear Association.
“There is a more serious, new and growing momentum in the development of nuclear energy in Southeast Asia,” said the association’s King Lee.
Southeast Asia revisits nuclear power
Five of the 11 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines) are pursuing nuclear.
Vietnam is building two nuclear power plants with the support of Russian state company Rosatom. According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, these are “nationally important, strategic projects”. Vietnam’s revised atomic energy law came into force in January.
Indonesia added nuclear power last year to its new energy plan, which aims to build two small modular reactors by 2034. Officials here say Canada and Russia have issued formal proposals for cooperation, and others will soon follow.
Last year, Thailand set a goal of adding 600 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity by 2037. Nuclear is a “promising solution” to provide enough affordable, clean electricity to meet growing demand, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand officials told a conference in Bangkok.
No Southeast Asian country has been more interested in atomic energy than the Philippines, which built a nuclear power plant in the 1970s that it never operated.
A new atomic energy regulatory authority launched last year will “initiate the integration of nuclear energy,” according to Philippine officials. The country set a 2032 target in February and approved a roadmap for potential investors.
“We do not expect nuclear electricity to be cheap initially,” Asuncion-Astronomo said. But in the long run, he said, this will increase the Philippines’ energy reliability, security, independence and ultimately costs.
“The ongoing conflict in the Middle East certainly demonstrates how volatile fossil fuel costs are and the instability of supply,” he said. “Nuclear is an alternative solution that can give us more self-confidence in terms of energy.”
Southeast Asian countries that do not have definitive plans are also showing interest.
Cambodia’s latest national strategy signaled openness to nuclear, and Singapore last year outlined plans to study its own atomic potential.
Even the tiny oil and gas sultanate of Brunei told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it was “carefully exploring nuclear energy.”
Data centers revive Malaysia’s nuclear plans
Contributing to Southeast Asia’s growing energy demand, AI-driven data centers are large windowless buildings filled with rows of computers.
The IEA says a standard AI data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households.
There are more than 500 operational data centers in Malaysia. About 300 more are under construction and another 1,140 are planned, according to Ember.
Malaysia revived its nuclear program last year and set a 2031 target to bring atomic energy online.
“A lot more industries are expanding in Malaysia,” said Zayana Zaikariah of the Kuala Lumpur-based Institute of Strategic and International Studies, listing growing interest in data centres, semiconductors and mining. “Everything needs energy.”
USA is helping.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed an agreement with Malaysia last year. He called it “a sign to the world of how possible civil nuclear cooperation is.” President Donald Trump also sees nuclear power as a way to meet data center demands. In 2025, he ordered the US’s nuclear power to be quadrupled over the next 25 years.
“Compared with previous flirtations with nuclear power, there is more incentive to pursue this,” said Amalina Anuar of the ISEAS-Yusof Institute, a Singapore-based think tank. Malaysia’s limited oil and gas reserves increase the search for new energy sources.
Ember found that fossil fuels produce 81 percent of Malaysia’s electricity, while solar and wind provide only 2 percent.
“Decarbonizing Malaysia is both urgent and critical, with increasing demand from AI and data centers expected,” said Dinita Setyawati with Ember. “However, the nuclear option needs to be approached cautiously,” he said.
Nuclear energy risks continue
According to the World Nuclear Association, if existing reactors continue operating and governments meet stated targets, global nuclear capacity will more than triple to approximately 1,446 gigawatts by 2050.
More than 400 nuclear reactors in nearly 30 countries produce approximately 380 gigawatts of energy, according to the IAEA’s Power Reactor Information System. This accounts for 4.5% to 10% of world energy, according to IEA and nuclear union estimates.
Concerns over nuclear safety, waste and supply remain. Public resistance flared after the disasters of Chernobyl in 1986 and the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns in 2011. However, even Japan, which closed all its power plants after that disaster, is restarting its nuclear power plants.
Bridget Woodman, of the research group Zero Carbon Analytics, said that as the world moves further away from climate targets, nuclear may appear deceptively more attractive than other less risky alternatives such as renewable energy.
He said Southeast Asian countries “considering building the nuclear industry from scratch” should consider the “possibility of an accident.”
