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Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

BlackRock expects the AI boom and data centers to drive a 50% jump in energy consumption in the Asia Pacific region over the next decade, a senior executive at the world’s largest asset manager said on Wednesday.

Technology giants have already started to secure long-term power contracts in Asia, where electricity and overall energy demand are rising and will rise more than previously expected, due to the demand for data centers and AI development.

Last month, Microsoft signed a deal to buy all the solar power from a project in Singapore as the tech giant seeks to achieve its goal of having 100% of its electricity consumption, 100% of the time, matched by zero-carbon energy purchases by 2030.

Microsoft has signed an agreement with EDP Renewables, a Spain-based company, to buy 100% percent of the renewable energy exported to the grid from EDP Renewables’ SolarNova 8 project in Singapore.

Asia will present huge opportunities for investment in infrastructure, including in energy infrastructure, as the AI boom unfolds, BlackRock says.

Earlier this month, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft, and MGX launched a new AI partnership to invest in data centers and support power infrastructure. The partnership will initially seek to unlock $30 billion of private equity capital over time from investors, asset owners, and corporates, which in turn will mobilize up to $100 billion in total investment potential when including debt financing.

“Mobilizing private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centers and power will unlock a multi-trillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity,” said Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock.