Thailand caps data centre noise, heat and water use

Thailand's cabinet has approved national standards for data centres that cap noise at 70 decibels at the site boundary, limit the temperature rise at the boundary to between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius, and require cooling water to be recirculated and inspected before any discharge.

Why it matters: Thailand drew more than $50 billion of investment applications in the first nine months of this year, about 70 percent of it AI related, and the standards set the environmental terms new data centre projects must meet before they can proceed.

Data as of Yonhap News Agency report in Korean, published November 11, 2026, read in full in translation via the estate browser route; Yonhap cites AFP and Bloomberg reporting of the Thai cabinet's November 10, 2026 approval and Thailand Board of Investment application figures. Developing item.

Thailand’s cabinet approved the standards on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said, setting noise at no more than 70 A-weighted decibels at a facility’s boundary, a boundary temperature rise of no more than 1 to 2 degrees Celsius, and recirculated cooling water that is inspected before discharge. Data centres drawing 20 megawatts or more must sit in industrial complexes under stricter supervision, while projects approved before August 14 keep operating with one year to comply.

Licensing moves to a one-stop service that weighs the standards alongside Thai jobs, technology education and local supply chain participation, and projects that fail the environmental and security requirements will not be allowed to proceed. The Board of Investment put investment applications in January to September above $50 billion, with AI related projects about 70 percent of the total, as resident opposition over power and water use grows across Southeast Asia, including protests on Indonesia’s Batam island and a cancelled project in Malaysia.

Thailand caps data centre noise, heat and water use

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