Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called for clearer Thailand data centre rules and greater use of green energy at Government House on September 4. He chaired the first 2026 meeting of the Data Center Business Policy Committee at 08.45. Anutin is also interior minister.
Anutin said data centres are essential infrastructure for the digital economy. They also place heavy demand on electricity, water, land and public utilities, raising environmental and cybersecurity concerns.
He instructed the committee to work on clearer legal definitions for data centres and on Green Data Center standards. The list also covers renewable energy use, data protection, cybersecurity and support for the AI and cloud industry.
Anutin said Thailand should not simply attract data centre investment. He argued the sector should be used to draw in related industries and promote technology transfers. It should also develop Thai workers and strengthen the wider digital ecosystem.
The prime minister said he was concerned that businesses were seeking large amounts of electricity capacity in advance. Preliminary applications for capacity from data centre developers total around 20,000 megawatts.
Anutin said that consumption should increasingly be met by green energy such as solar and wind. Fossil fuels and generators should carry less of the load.
“We are not saying that we will never build data centres again. We need to put them in order,” Anutin said.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said authorities are reviewing data centres in the capital after complaints about fuel smells and generator noise. Six data centres have been established in Bangkok, he said. Only three of them have received permits.
Chadchart said the facilities applied under a warehouse classification, because Thai law had not clearly defined standalone data centres. The three permitted sites have not been ordered to suspend operations while the relevant agencies continue their assessments.
He said the government should consider updating laws on urban planning, building control and environmental impact assessment, to reflect the arrival of standalone data centres.
“Data centres were never included in the definition. The law may not have kept pace,” Chadchart said.
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