Nopadej Karnasuta, President for Thailand, Malaysia and Energy & Industrial Solutions Business at B.Grimm Power Public Company Limited (SET: BGRIM), said Thailand must distinguish genuine data center investments from speculative projects that reserve resources without clear development plans.
During the discussion at THE STANDARD ECONOMIC FORUM 2026 on November 4, Nopadej noted that proposed data center investments totaled approximately THB1.7 trillion, involving more than 100 projects seeking investment promotion. However, the headline figure does not represent committed investment, as some projects may lack customers, land or concrete implementation plans.
He urged authorities to assess investors’ financial readiness, customer commitments, land availability and development experience to prevent excessive reservations of electricity capacity.
Beyond attracting capital, Nopadej emphasized the importance of local content. A 1-gigawatt data center could source approximately 23%–31% of its goods and services domestically, generating more than THB60 billion in local value. Including employment, workforce development and supporting activities, the potential economic contribution could reach THB94 billion, with around 6,400 workers benefiting from skills development.
He also proposed a “Build Your Own Power” approach, under which investors help develop the energy supply infrastructure needed for their facilities and bear the associated costs, rather than shifting the burden to households or other industries.
On the proposed THB1.40-per-unit wheeling charge for direct power purchase agreements, Nopadej said the rate should reflect the full cost of electricity generation, transmission, ancillary services and grid balancing. However, he argued that an efficient calculation that avoids double-counting existing infrastructure should keep the charge below THB1 per unit.
He said data center development should ultimately strengthen Thailand’s power security, domestic supply chains and skilled workforce, while creating opportunities in electronics, printed circuit boards, semiconductors and AI-related industries.
About BGRIM Data Center
BGRIM has partnered with Digital Edge (a Singapore-based digital infrastructure platform) to develop the BKK Campus, a 96-megawatt (MW) (or ~100 MW) next-generation hyperscale and AI-ready data center.
BGRIM recently announced plans to invest in a 250MW data center project with a new international partner, signaling enhanced ambition and capacity targets of 500MW in data centers by 2030. The company is also exploring expansion opportunities in South Korea and Japan, with a targeted capacity of 200MW.
