SINGAPORE, Oct 25 – Malaysia has significant potential to expand power generation capacity and attract data centre developers, but meeting rising electricity demand will also require adequate transmission capacity and access to land and water, said Japan’s largest power generation company, Energy for a New Era (Jera).
Jera Asia chief executive officer Izumi Kai said Malaysia also had the greatest potential among Asian countries to increase generation capacity and import liquefied natural gas (LNG) for data centres, based on Jera’s projections.
“I think many (companies), not only Japanese, but also potential data centre developers, are targeting Malaysia as I think it is a strong partner, besides Thailand as well as Indonesia,” he told reporters after a media briefing in conjunction with the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2026.
He also stressed the importance of obtaining regulatory and public approval to build the data centres.
Meanwhile, Kai noted that the growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres also made the speed of securing power increasingly important.
“For AI and data centres, it is not just about access to power. Speed to power matters just as much,” he said.
Kai further said that Jera was constantly exploring ways to use its existing generation sites to deliver reliable power faster, while meeting AI-related demand without losing momentum on decarbonisation.
“At the same time, we need to meet the scale and speed of AI demand without losing momentum on decarbonisation through solutions combining firm power, renewables and batteries,” he said.
On the role of LNG in supporting electricity demand across Asean, Kai said there was no single trajectory for the fuel across the region, but reliability remained a common priority as electricity demand and renewable energy capacity grew.
He said natural gas could provide dependable and flexible power to balance electricity systems, although its role would vary across markets.
“So as electricity demand and renewables grow in this region, gas can provide the dependable and flexible power needed to keep the system balanced.
“In some markets, it will remain the backbone fuel, but in other regions, it will increasingly complement renewables,” he said.
Kai also said that while capital was available to accelerate power infrastructure projects, they needed to be financially viable to attract investment.
“So the capital is available, but projects need to be bankable. For long-term infrastructure, investors need predictable economics and appropriate risk sharing.
“LNG-to-power cannot be developed in silos. Fuel supply, infrastructure and generation need to move forward together,” he said.
Elaborating on energy security, Kai said countries needed to build resilience across the entire energy value chain through diversified supply, efficient use of existing assets and a balanced energy mix.
He said the energy transition required a clear destination but a flexible path, as countries responded to immediate challenges while maintaining their long-term decarbonisation direction.
Jera was established in 2015 through the consolidation of the fuel and thermal power departments of Tokyo Electric Power Company and Chubu Power Company.
The company also accounts for about 30% of Japan’s electricity supply.
