By Elena Vasquez

Thailand’s cabinet approved data-center rules on Tuesday that hold noise to around 70 A-weighted decibels and limit perimeter temperature increases to 1-2°C, Bloomberg reported. Nikkei Asia described the measure as the first Thai regulation written specifically for the industry.

The rules govern an industry expanding rapidly with the AI investment boom, and their stated purpose is to conserve both water and power.

What do Thailand’s new limits require?

Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of Thailand’s economic planning agency, set out the thresholds after the cabinet’s approval. The A-weighted scale used for the noise limit accounts for how the human ear registers loudness.

• Noise: Operators must hold noise near 70 A-weighted decibels whenever uninterruptible power supplies are operating, Pichayanan said.
• Heat: Temperature increases along the perimeter of a data-center property must remain between 1 and 2°C, equivalent to 1.8-3.6°F, Pichayanan said.
• Water: Cooling water must be reused in a loop. Any water released from a site must pass testing.
• Siting: Facilities located within industrial estates are subject to further obligations.
• Scale: Large data centers must meet stricter standards.

Why were new data-center projects paused?

Work on building new data centers had been paused for several months while officials drafted the rules, according to Nikkei Asia. The pause coincided with the government’s effort to establish a uniform framework for an industry expanding rapidly with the AI investment boom.

According to Bloomberg, the regulations form part of Thailand’s push to reap the economic gains from growing investment in computing infrastructure while protecting water and electricity supplies and avoiding trouble for neighboring communities. The environmental thresholds place measurable limits on that infrastructure expansion.

At the property edge, the policy becomes operational: noise must stay near 70 decibels when backup systems operate, perimeter heat increases must remain within 1-2°C, and cooling water must be reused in a loop. The rules thus connect the pace of data-center development to the utility and community constraints surrounding each site.

What must developers demonstrate?

Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said, according to Bloomberg: “We will implement the highest standards.” Projects that do not satisfy the security and environmental criteria “will not be allowed to proceed,” he said.

The minister’s language makes both security and environmental compliance conditions for a project’s continuation, rather than an aspirational target. Large centers face stricter standards, while industrial-estate sites carry additional obligations. For operators, meeting those conditions is the immediate requirement attached to Thailand’s effort to expand computing infrastructure.

How large is the AI investment push?

Investment-promotion applications in Thailand topped $50 billion in the first nine months of the year, Bloomberg reported, citing the country’s Board of Investment. AI-related projects accounted for about 70% of the value, roughly seven of every 10 dollars represented in the application pool.

The $50 billion total measures applications submitted to the investment-promotion system. The 70% AI share makes the sector the dominant category in that pipeline, giving the new environmental standards direct relevance to Thailand’s infrastructure ambitions.

By setting enforceable limits before projects proceed, Thailand is seeking to keep the country’s AI infrastructure expansion compatible with its water and power supplies. The framework also limits the risk of disputes with neighboring communities, which Bloomberg identified as a core objective of the policy.

Thailand has chosen a conditional path to AI-led data-center growth, tying new projects to defined environmental and security criteria as investment applications top $50 billion in nine months.