Model your project savings and peak-demand reduction
Calculate ROIMalaysia is ASEAN's fastest-growing data centre market — and electricity is your biggest cost. Meet RE100 and ESG commitments from hyperscaler tenants while cutting energy bills by 20-35% with on-site solar and Virtual PPA through CGPP.
Three structural forces are making renewable energy non-negotiable for data centre operators in Malaysia.
Johor, KL, and Penang host over 80 operational or committed data centres as of 2026. Hyperscalers — AWS, Google, Microsoft, ByteDance — have pledged billions in Malaysian DC investment. With that scale comes enormous electricity demand and intense scrutiny on its source.
RE100 signatories — including the world's largest cloud providers and tech firms — require their colocation and supply chain partners to demonstrate renewable energy use. Without a credible RE strategy, Malaysian data centres risk losing tenants to competitors in regions with better green power access.
For most data centres, electricity is the single largest operating cost — typically 50-60% of total OpEx. TNB commercial and industrial tariffs are rising. Solar, whether on-site or via Virtual PPA, is the most scalable tool available to reduce this structural cost burden.
Each model addresses different constraints — roof area, scale, and RE100 ambition. Most large data centres use a combination.
Maximise available roof area with high-efficiency bifacial panels. Typical data centre roofs yield 300 kWp to 2 MWp depending on footprint. Best for initial RE% improvement and on-site generation credentials.
On-site | Quick deploymentConvert parking areas into solar generation assets. Dual purpose: shaded parking for staff and vehicles, plus clean energy for the facility. Adds meaningful generation capacity beyond the rooftop alone.
On-site | Additional capacityProcure 100% renewable electricity from off-site solar farms through Malaysia's Corporate Green Power Programme. No physical installation limits. The only viable path to RE100 for large-scale data centres.
Off-site | Unlimited scaleBattery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are increasingly paired with data centre solar deployments. Unlike residential storage, data centre BESS is typically deployed at the facility level — 500 kWh to several MWh — to serve specific grid and operational functions.
BESS does not replace diesel generators or your primary UPS infrastructure. It works alongside them as an intelligent buffer between the grid and your critical load.
Data centres rely on diesel gensets for N+1 or 2N backup. BESS integrates as an additional layer — not a replacement. The operational stack becomes:
A 10 MW data centre with 500 kWh BESS shaving 500 kW of peak demand saves approximately RM89.27 × 500 kW = RM44,635/month in TNB Maximum Demand charges — over RM535K annually — before any energy savings from solar generation.
On-site solar capacity is constrained by physical footprint. Virtual PPA removes that constraint for large facilities.
| DC Category | IT Load | Solar Capacity | RE Coverage | Est. Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edge / Small | 0.5 – 2 MW | 200 – 500 kWp | 10-25% | RM180K – RM450K |
| Mid-Tier | 2 – 10 MW | 500 kWp – 2 MWp | 5-20% | RM450K – RM2M |
| Large / Hyperscale | 10 – 50 MW | 1 – 5 MWp (on-site) | 2-10% on-site + CGPP | RM1M – RM5M+ |
| Hyperscale + CGPP | 10 – 100+ MW | Unlimited (Virtual PPA) | Up to 100% RE | Market rate vs TNB |
Savings are indicative based on TNB industrial tariff and average Peninsular Malaysia irradiance. Actual figures depend on system design and consumption profile.
On-site solar — even with every square metre of roof and carport covered — typically offsets only 2-15% of a large data centre's electricity consumption. A 20 MW facility might achieve 1-2 MWp of rooftop solar, covering roughly 5-10% of annual load.
For RE100 compliance, data centres need a path to 100% renewable electricity. Malaysia's Corporate Green Power Programme (CGPP) enables this by allowing businesses to contract directly with licensed RE generators for power that flows into the national grid on their account.
Trexon structures CGPP agreements for data centres of all sizes — from 1 MW to 100 MW+ — connecting them to utility-scale solar farms with long-term price agreements and RE certificate issuance for sustainability reporting.
Procure as much renewable power as your load requires through off-site solar farms.
Receive official documentation for RE100, CDP, MSCI ESG, and TCFD Scope 2 reporting.
Lock in RE pricing for 10-25 years, hedging against TNB tariff escalation.
Offer hyperscaler tenants documented renewable energy supply — a key differentiator in the Malaysian DC market.
Stack on-site rooftop/carport solar with CGPP for the most complete RE strategy.
Common questions from data centre operators evaluating solar and RE100 strategies in Malaysia.
Not entirely from on-site solar alone — roof and carport areas are typically insufficient to cover the full load of a data centre running 24/7. However, combining on-site solar with a Virtual PPA (procuring RE from off-site solar farms via CGPP) allows data centres to achieve 100% renewable electricity coverage. Most hyperscale facilities in Malaysia pursue this hybrid approach.
Solar is integrated as a supplementary supply layer and does not replace your primary power feed or diesel backup generators. The solar system feeds into your common electrical infrastructure during daylight hours, reducing the load drawn from TNB. Inverters with anti-islanding protection ensure safe disconnection during grid outages, maintaining your critical power hierarchy (TNB → UPS → Diesel Gen).
A Virtual PPA (also known as a Financial PPA or CGPP under Malaysia's Corporate Green Power Programme) allows a data centre to contractually purchase renewable energy from an off-site solar farm without physical power delivery. The data centre receives Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or equivalent documentation confirming that the equivalent amount of clean energy was injected into the grid on their behalf. This enables RE100 and ESG reporting without needing to install more panels than your roof can support.
Yes, positively. Solar reduces the amount of utility power consumed per unit of IT load. Since PUE = Total Facility Energy / IT Equipment Energy, reducing the total facility energy draw via on-site solar generation (which is not counted as consumed utility power in some PUE methodologies) can help improve your PUE ratio. This depends on how your facility measures and reports PUE.
On-site solar becomes financially meaningful for data centres with at least 500 kW of IT load and adequate roof or carport area. For smaller edge data centres, the economics still work but the percentage of load offset is lower. For any size data centre seeking RE100 compliance, Virtual PPA via CGPP is available regardless of physical site constraints.
Trexon provides metered generation reports, energy certificates, and documentation compatible with RE100 technical criteria, GHG Protocol Scope 2 guidance, and TCFD disclosure requirements. For CGPP/Virtual PPA arrangements, RECs are issued by the relevant authority and can be used for CDP, MSCI ESG, and sustainability report disclosures.
Our team works with data centre operators across Malaysia on on-site solar, BESS, and Virtual PPA structures. Get a no-obligation assessment tailored to your facility size and RE100 targets.
We work with data centres from 500 kW to 100 MW+ IT load.
Tell us about your data centre and we'll design a tier-1 solar + UPS solution.
Peak shaving, demand management, and UPS supplementation for data centres
Procure 100% renewable electricity through Malaysia's Corporate Green Power Programme
Direct renewable energy supply for large commercial and industrial consumers
Dual-purpose solar structures for data centre parking areas