Recently, a data center investment boom is surging towards this small island near Singapore in Batam, Indonesia. Currently, 20 data center projects have been implemented on Batam Island, with a committed investment of over 7.3 billion US dollars. From Wanguo Data to Runze Technology, from DBS Bank financing to 511 MVA power supply contracts, international giants and developers are rushing to seize the market. However, challenges such as power shortage and freshwater scarcity have also emerged, presenting opportunities for Chinese enterprises in supporting fields such as electromechanical, power supply, energy storage, and water systems.

Self owned power plants and direct power supply

PLN, the Indonesian national power company, has a monopoly on power generation, transmission, distribution, and sales, and is the sole buyer. In 2024, the government will subsidize PLN with 77.04 trillion Indonesian rupiahs, equivalent to 32.7 billion yuan, but PLN's receivables from the government are as high as 43.29 trillion rupiahs, making it difficult to invest in power grid upgrades. The peak load of Batam Island is expected to increase from 841 MW in 2026 to 2540 MW in 2035, nearly tripling, and power shortages are inevitable. PLN plans to add 69.5 GW of installed capacity over the next ten years, of which 42.6 GW will be renewable energy, and 73% of the projects will be invested by independent power generators. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 5 of 2025 has tested spot trading and discussed allowing large users to directly purchase electricity from power generators. The opportunities for self owned power plants and direct power supply in industrial parks have emerged, with Chinese companies holding the world's most complete supply chain for gas turbines, photovoltaic modules, and energy storage systems.

New opportunities for power matching

The data center cabinets range from 3 to 5 kilowatts to 20 to 50 kilowatts, and traditional uninterruptible power supply and air cooling solutions are not sufficient. The high-density cabinet needs to be equipped with liquid cooling, the uninterruptible power supply needs to switch to high-voltage direct current, and the backup power supply needs to shift from traditional diesel generators to a combination of backup battery units and diesel generators. The Indonesian power supply business plan includes 10.3 GW of energy storage facilities, 6 GW of pumped storage, and 4.3 GW of electrochemical energy storage, with the aim of stabilizing grid fluctuations after the integration of photovoltaic and wind power. Photovoltaic modules, energy storage cells, diesel generator sets, and precision power distribution are all strengths of Chinese enterprises. Even if you can't be the main operator, you can still make money by doing electromechanical and equipment packages. Keywords: high-tech news and information, data center, international

Desalination of seawater and water systems

The permanent population of Batam Island is about 1.3 million, and there is no natural freshwater source on the island, relying solely on six artificial reservoirs to store rainfall. The drought in 2026 will cause some residential areas to be without water for three consecutive months. In September 2026, about 300 residents held empty buckets to protest at Nongsa Digital Park. Therefore, Batam Island explicitly requires Nongsa and Kabil to build their own seawater reverse osmosis desalination facilities in their new data centers, and not to occupy public reservoirs anymore. The goal of Batam City is to achieve a desalination capacity of 750 liters per second in the next two to three years, and gradually increase it to 1000 liters per second. China's desalination membranes, high-pressure pumps, and modular desalination devices have advantages in both cost and delivery speed. This piece sounds like dirt, but it is a necessary requirement for projects that cannot be approved without it in Batam Island.Editor/Gao Xue