Northern Metropolis data hub may surpass MTR Corp as Hong Kong’s top power consumer

A planned supercomputing hub in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis could overtake the MTR Corporation rail operator as the city’s single largest electricity consumer, prompting a green group and experts to call for setting energy efficiency standards to limit the sector’s carbon emissions.According to The Green Earth’s estimates, the new project – set to begin operating in 2029 – could increase the industry’s annual carbon emissions by about 70 per cent compared with current levels. Experts have urged incorporating sustainable policies and design before work begins.The hub’s projected annual consumption is equivalent to the electricity used by roughly 530,000 households in a year.“The most pressing issue is the current lack of government regulation regarding both energy consumption and carbon emissions,” said Steven Chan Wing-kit, assistant environmental affairs manager at The Green Earth.“Picture another large-scale electricity consumer springing out within a few years … if the government continues its current approach to focus only on decarbonising the power grid rather than actively managing electricity consumption, we are concerned that carbon emissions will escalate rapidly.”According to available official statistics, existing data centres in the city took up about 4.35 per cent of Hong Kong’s electricity consumption in 2023 at 7,131 terajoules, or 1.98 billion kilowatt-hours.