Southeast Asia revisits nuclear power plans for AI data centers as Iran
war disrupts energy supplies
[March 26, 2026] By
ANTON L. DELGADO
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Nuclear power is getting a second look in
Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as
they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers.
Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans
and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if
they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even
countries without current plans have signaled their interest.
Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy,
despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure
mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while
meeting growing power needs.
The Iran war is underscoring the vulnerability of Asia’s energy
supplies, raising the sense of urgency about finding alternatives to oil
and gas in Southeast Asia, analysts say.
The surge in crude oil prices caused by the escalating conflict has
raised the motivation for countries to speed up their nuclear efforts,
said Alvie Asuncion-Astronomo of the Philippine Nuclear Research
Institute.
Vietnam and Russia advanced a nuclear power deal this week as the
region's energy security concerns worsened. In South Asia, Bangladesh is
racing to power up its new nuclear power plant, also backed by Russia,
to address the country's energy shortfalls.
Southeast Asia will account for a quarter of growth in global energy
demand by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency, or IEA.
That partly is because of the more than 2,000 data centers in Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, according to
the think tank Ember.
Many more data centers are in the pipeline.
That's most obvious in Malaysia, which aspires to be Southeast Asia’s AI
computing hub and has drawn investments and interest from tech giants
like Microsoft, Google and Nvidia.
The revival of Southeast Asia's nuclear interest mirrors a global trend.
Nearly 40 nations — including the United States, Japan, South Korea and
China — have joined a global push to triple installed nuclear energy
capacity by 2050. Southeast Asia will account for nearly a fourth of the
157 gigawatts expected from “newcomer nuclear nations" by mid-century,
according to the industry-backed World Nuclear Association.
“There is a more serious, new and growing momentum for the development
of nuclear energy in Southeast Asia,” said King Lee, with the
association.
Southeast Asia revisits nuclear power
Five of the 11 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations —
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines — are chasing
nuclear.
Vietnam is building two nuclear plants, backed by the Russian state
corporation Rosatom. These are “nationally significant, strategic
projects," according to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Vietnam's
revised atomic energy law took effect in January.
Indonesia added nuclear to its new energy plan last year, aiming to
build two small modular reactors by 2034. Officials there say Canada and
Russia have issued formal cooperation proposals and others will soon
follow.
Thailand set a target last year of adding 600 megawatts of nuclear
generating capacity by 2037. Nuclear is a “promising solution” to
supplying enough affordable, clean electricity to meet rising demand,
officials with Thailand's Electricity Generating Authority told a
conference in Bangkok.
No Southeast Asian nation has engaged with atomic energy more than the
Philippines, which built a nuclear power plant in the 1970s that it
never turned on.
A new atomic energy regulatory authority launched last year will “usher
in the integration of nuclear power," according to Philippine officials.
The country set a 2032 target and approved a roadmap for potential
investors in February.
“We are not anticipating that nuclear electricity will be cheap at the
onset," said Asuncion-Astronomo. But in the long term, she said it will
improve the Philippines' energy reliability, security, independence and
eventually costs.
“The ongoing conflict in the Middle East definitely demonstrates how
volatile fossil fuel costs are and the instability of the supply,” she
said. “Nuclear is an alternative solution that can give us more
self-reliance in terms of energy.”
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Construction workers walk to a data center building under
construction in Sedenak Tech Park in Johor state of Malaysia, Sept.
27, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
 Southeast Asian nations without firm
plans are also showing interest.
Cambodia’s latest national strategy signaled an openness to nuclear
and Singapore outlined plans last year to study its own atomic
potential.
Even the tiny oil and gas sultanate of Brunei told the International
Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, that it is “carefully exploring
nuclear energy."
Data centers revive Malaysia’s nuclear plans
The AI-focused data centers contributing to Southeast Asia’s growing
energy demand are large windowless buildings filled with rows of
computers.
A standard AI data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000
households, the IEA says.
Malaysia has more than 500 operational data centers. Another 300 or
so are under construction and around 1,140 are planned, according to
Ember.
Malaysia revived its nuclear program last year and set a 2031 target
for bringing atomic energy online.
“A lot more industries are expanding in Malaysia,” said Zayana
Zaikariah, with the Kuala Lumpur-based Institute of Strategic &
International Studies, listing growing interest in data centers,
semiconductors and mining. “Everything requires energy.”
The U.S. is helping.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed an agreement with Malaysia
last year. He called it “a signal to the world of how civil nuclear
cooperation is something that is available." President Donald Trump
also sees nuclear as a way to meet data center demands. In 2025, he
ordered the quadrupling of U.S. nuclear power within the next 25
years.
“There’s more incentive to follow through compared to previous
flirtations with nuclear energy,” said Amalina Anuar, with the
ISEAS-Yusof Institute, a Singapore-based think tank. The fact that
Malaysia’s oil and gas reserves are finite is driving a search for
new energy sources.
Fossil fuels generate 81% of Malaysia’s electricity, Ember found,
while solar and wind provide just 2%.
“Malaysia’s decarbonization is both urgent and critical as rising
demand from AI and data centers is anticipated,” said Dinita
Setyawati with Ember. “But the nuclear option should be approached
cautiously.”
Nuclear power risks remain
Global nuclear capacity will more than triple — to about 1,446
gigawatts — by 2050 if existing reactors continue operations and
governments meet their stated targets, according to the World
Nuclear Association.
More than 400 nuclear reactors, in about 30 countries, generate
around 380 gigawatts of energy, according to the IAEA's Power
Reactor Information System. This is makes up between 4.5% to 10% of
the world's energy, the IEA and nuclear association estimate.
Concerns over nuclear safety, waste and supply remain. Public
resistance flared after the cataclysmic 1986 Chernobyl and 2011
Fukushima nuclear meltdowns. But even Japan, which idled all its
plants after that disaster, is restarting its nuclear plants.
Bridget Woodman, with the research group Zero Carbon Analytics, said
that as the world strays farther off track from its climate goals,
nuclear can look deceptively more enticing than other less risky
alternatives, like renewable energy.
Southeast Asian countries “considering starting a nuclear industry
from scratch” need to consider “the possibility of accidents,” she
said.
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Associated Press writer Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi, Vietnam
contributed to this report.
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