Thailand’s Cabinet has yesterday approved new rules to limit noise at data center boundaries to 70 A-weighted decibels (dBA), and capping nearby temperature increases to 1 – 2 degrees Celsius, according to a government data center board. It also proposed that cooling water must be recirculated and tested before discharge.
In addition, data centers consuming more than 20MW of energy must be located in industrial zones with more stringent oversight under new zoning rules, Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of Thailand’s economic planning agency reportedly said after the Cabinet’s approval.
The new rules came about after Thailand paused the construction of 49 data centers due to complaints over environmental and community safety.
According to a Yale University chart comparison, the 70dBA is “slightly quieter than a vacuum cleaner.”
Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas had reportedly said projects that fail to meet security and environmental requirements “will not be allowed to proceed”.
Thailand’s Board of Investment meanwhile said it has approved 57 data center projects nationwide. Out of that, 17 are operating, 20 have received construction permits and 20 are preparing to invest.
The board has also received many applications that it deemed speculative. More than 110 applicants had requested over 30,000MW of electricity, but “only about a quarter or fewer had genuine investment plans,” it reportedly said.
Thailand attracted more than US$50 billion of investment-promotion applications in the first nine months of this year, out of which 70 per cent are AI-related, the board added.
Eligible projects approved before August 14 will be given one year to comply with the new guidelines.