LEGCO WORK

Council Meetings (Oral Question): Properties available for data centre use（2024.06.05）

Posted On 05/06/2024

MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Thank you, President. As pointed out in part (1) of the main reply, the total floor area of data centres in Hong Kong is estimated to reach 1.5 million sq m by 2026, so there is no need to worry whether

the floor area is adequate. However, supercomputing centres consume a substantial amount of electricity. Just now, Mr Tony TSE has mentioned the need to secure a stable electricity supply. I would like to ask: Since the largest expenditure of a data centre is electricity, has the Bureau explored the possibility of securing a dedicated electricity supply from the power companies? In other words, for such a high consumption of electricity, can the power companies offer special concessionary rates or even propose to the Mainland the need for importing electricity through dedicated transmission lines? In this way, a genuinely concessionary electricity supply can be provided to support the data centre industry.

SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRY

President, as the Member has pointed out, electricity is very important to the development of data centres, and it is also a consideration for cost-effectiveness. At present, we notice that data centres of various scales on the market have attached great importance to energy efficiency enhancement, including the use of different technologies to achieve further energy savings and enhance the efficiency of energy systems. Regarding the issues raised by the Member, including electricity supply, our Data Centre Facilitation Unit will communicate with the industry in due course and explore measures with our departments and even various public organizations to further assist the industry in promoting the overall development of data centres. Thank you, President.