Kuala Lumpur — Gentari, the clean energy arm of Malaysia’s Petronas, and Gamuda, through its energy division Gamuda Energy, have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity dedicated to powering hyperscale data centres. The initiative, established under Malaysia’s Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), will combine large-scale solar photovoltaic power plants with battery energy storage systems to provide reliable and sustainable energy for the country’s fast-growing digital infrastructure.
CRESS enables corporations to directly contract renewable energy while paying a system access charge to the grid operator, making it a key enabler for scaling corporate clean energy adoption. The partnership leverages Gentari’s expertise in renewable energy development and Gamuda’s track record in delivering complex infrastructure projects, aligning their strengths to meet rising data centre energy demands.
Hyperscale data centres, which underpin cloud computing, AI, and digital services, are expected to require more than 5GW of reliable power in Malaysia by 2035. The collaboration between Gentari and Gamuda aims to accelerate renewable capacity to address this demand while supporting Malaysia’s national target of achieving 40% renewable energy capacity by 2035. Currently, solar accounts for only 5% of Malaysia’s total installed capacity, with 2GW in place as of end-2024.
The move also builds on Gamuda’s recent expansion into the data centre sector, including its acquisition of a 390-acre site near Kuala Lumpur capable of supporting up to 1GW of capacity. Gamuda claims to manage over 8GW of renewable assets globally, while Gentari has been strengthening its regional clean energy footprint through power purchase agreements, including an 80MW wind project in Tamil Nadu, India with AWS, and solar PPAs with Telekom Malaysia.
This collaboration is expected to play a critical role in making Malaysia a hub for sustainable data centre operations, balancing digital transformation with national clean energy goals.
