Southeast Asia AI centers push nuclear

Vietnam’s nuclear restart is colliding with a second story: Southeast Asia’s scramble to power AI-era data centres. The region’s digital buildout is lifting electricity demand forecasts, and governments are pairing that with new interest in power sources that can run around the clock. In Vietnam, that has produced two separate 2026 tracks — a signed intergovernmental agreement with Russia for Ninh Thuan 1 and a parallel South Korean push around Ninh Thuan 2. The result is not proof that AI alone is driving nuclear policy, but it does show why data-centre growth has made firm power a more urgent political and commercial question. ### Why are data centres suddenly part of an energy story? The International Energy Agency said in its 2026 electricity outlook that global power demand is forecast to rise at an average 3.6% a year from 2026 to 2030, supported by industry, electric vehicles, air conditioning and data centres. Deloitte said in a March 2026 report on Asia-Pacific data centres that scaling power generation is central to sustaining the sector’s growth without straining grids. (moit.gov.vn) Malaysia has put concrete numbers on that pressure. Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Fadillah Yusof said electricity consumption by data centres in Peninsular Malaysia is projected to rise from 7% of total demand in 2026 to 31% by 2035, equivalent to 73,274 gigawatt-hours, according to local media reports citing the ministry. (iea.org) ### What has Vietnam actually signed with Russia? Vietnam and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement on March 23, 2026, on cooperation to build the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said. World Nuclear News reported the project is planned with two VVER-1200 reactors, with Russia’s new Leningrad units used as the reference project. (nst.com.my) Rosatom said the agreement was signed during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Moscow and was witnessed by Chinh and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Vietnam’s science ministry said the deal covers construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant. (moit.gov.vn) ### Where does South Korea fit in? South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on April 22, 2026, that Korea Electric Power Corp. and Vietnam National Industry-Energy Group, or Petrovietnam, signed an MOU on potential cooperation in new nuclear power development. Petrovietnam separately said the two countries exchanged 12 cooperation documents that day, including two related to nuclear power. (rosatom.ru) Vietnam is expected to select an official foreign partner for Ninh Thuan 2 in the third quarter of 2026, according to Vietnam Investment Review and other reports. Reuters, via the Straits Times, reported in July that the second plant could have capacity of up to 3.2 gigawatts and that KEPCO was among potential partners. (english.motir.go.kr) ### Is this really about AI, or about energy security more broadly? Vietnamese officials have framed the nuclear projects in broader terms than data centres alone. Vietnam News said Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son described Ninh Thuan 1 as strategically important for energy security and the clean-energy transition when resettlement and site-clearance work began. Vietnam Plus reported the government has been pushing to fast-track both Ninh Thuan projects on a five-year timetable. (vir.com.vn) The data-centre angle matters because it adds another class of large, reliability-sensitive load to systems already dealing with industrial growth, cooling demand and renewable integration. That is an inference from the IEA, Deloitte and Malaysian demand projections, rather than a formal statement by Hanoi linking AI data centres directly to the Ninh Thuan deals. (vietnamnews.vn) ### What should readers watch next? The third quarter of 2026 is the next concrete checkpoint for Vietnam’s nuclear programme because that is when Hanoi is expected to choose a foreign partner for Ninh Thuan 2. In parallel, site-clearance and resettlement work for Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 has been moving ahead in Khanh Hoa province, with Vietnam Plus and Vietnam News describing those steps as prerequisites for the broader buildout. (iea.org) (vir.com.vn)