Pivot to BIMP EAGA-ANZ for sources of synergy in AI and energy

By Antonio A. Ver

In the past, the market reserved a special place for the best product and another for the cheapest product. But lately the calculus dictates that products’ physical visibility takes front and center. One can buy only what can overcome the puzzles that lie between the farms and the markets.

In this light, the pivot to the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines – East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) – Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Corridor makes sense. Shorter travel time makes more sense than longer travel time when it comes to the physical movement of goods.

Now more than ever, there is a need to look at possibilities beyond mere face value and more towards synergy, to create a whole that is much greater than the sum of its component parts.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The strategic value of the Australian region specifically highlights the National Electricity Market (NEM), Tasmania’s renewable stability, and the potential for specialized high-performance computing (HPC) projects, such as those currently under development in Queensland. Thus, this frames the connection between BIMP-EAGA and ANZ as a diversified Asia-Pacific strategy for latency-tolerant AI workloads, while maintaining a realistic assessment of necessary infrastructure and governance requirements.

For two decades, the dominant metaphor for digital infrastructure has been the “cloud” — a weightless, placeless abstraction. That metaphor is collapsing. Artificial Intelligence, particularly large-scale model training, consumes electricity at scales that rival industrial manufacturing. A single hyperscale data center can draw 100-200 megawatts (MW) continuously; clusters under development are projected to reach gigawatt-scale by 2030.

Traditional hubs like Singapore face formal moratoria and grid saturation. This material grounding forces a re-evaluation of geography.

This essay analyzes whether the BIMP-EAGA region, in conjunction with Australia and New Zealand, could form a viable Asia-Pacific computing corridor. It argues that while these locations merit serious consideration, their success hinges on addressing infrastructure gaps and governance realism.

The viability of these locations depends on transparently modeled variables: capital and operating expenditure (electricity tariffs and cooling), power system dispatchability, network connectivity (latency and redundancy), and regulatory stability (data sovereignty and permitting).

ENERGY: BEYOND BASELOAD TO DISPATCHABILITY
BIMP-EAGA: The region holds substantial resources, such as Sarawak’s 3,500 MW of hydropower and Mindanao’s geothermal capacity. However, grids remain fragmented. The challenge is ensuring 99.99% availability for hyperscale loads without dedicated generation.

Australia: The National Electricity Market (NEM) offers 65 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity. While transmission congestion exists, the mature electricity derivatives market allows for sophisticated price hedging. Tasmania, with 90% renewable generation, offers a high-stability, low-carbon alternative.

New Zealand: Offers an 85% renewable grid. While the market is smaller, the government’s 2025 infrastructure strategy prioritizes data centers with streamlined permitting.

CRITICAL MINERALS, DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY
The physical infrastructure of AI depends on copper, nickel, and rare earths. Indonesia and the Philippines hold significant nickel reserves, while Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths operates a critical processing facility. Locating computing near these supply chains reduces logistics risk, particularly for integrated facilities that combine processing and component assembly.

Meanwhile, when it comes to digital connectivity, model training is latency-tolerant, making BIMP-EAGA’s 35-70ms latency to Singapore and Tokyo acceptable. However, inference workloads requiring <50ms for interactive applications will still favor hubs like Johor or Batam. Australia’s east coast serves Oceania well but faces 80-120ms latency to Southeast Asia.

GOVERNANCE REALISM, CARBON EXPOSURE, WORKLOAD SEGMENTATION
BIMP-EAGA operates as “developmental regionalism,” coordinating infrastructure within the constraints of distinct national systems.

Australia and New Zealand offer higher regulatory stability but face their own complexities, such as Australia’s state-federal divisions.

Meanwhile, corporate buyers increasingly require 100% renewable power. This favors Sarawak’s hydro, Tasmania’s wind/hydro, and New Zealand’s geothermal assets over coal-reliant grids in Kalimantan, unless dedicated renewable offsets are established.

The corridor is most competitive for Training Clusters, which prioritize low-cost power and land over millisecond latency. Inference, by contrast, will remain concentrated near population centers.

3 SCENARIOS FOR 2035
Scenario A (Strong Policy): Effective coordination attracts 500-1,000 MW of training capacity to EAGA.

Scenario B (Incremental): Investment remains concentrated in established hubs, with EAGA attracting 100-300 MW in isolated projects.

Scenario C (Carbon-Driven): Corporate mandates push demand toward high-renewable locations like Tasmania and New Zealand.

CONCLUSION: CONDITIONAL PROMISE
The BIMP-EAGA, ANZ regions offer genuine assets for a diversified Asia-Pacific computing strategy. The “cloud” is heavy, and its weight requires managing constraints into comparative advantages. Success depends not on resource abundance alone, but on the harder work of grid integration and regulatory coordination.

Antonio A. Ver is the chairman, president, and CEO of Energies PH, the chairman of Energies Global Data, and chairman of Energies Global Endowment “Ideas for the World.” He was program director for BOT Projects in the Department of Transportation and Communications from 1989 to 1995. He had oversight in telecommunications, civil aviation, traffic, ports, maritime, coast guard, light rail and urban mass transport systems until 1995. He was independent director, from 2009 to 2015, of the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. that manages the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. He is founder and first-elected president, and is incumbent chairman of the Asia Pacific Basin for Energy Strategies, an energy and economic think-tank, and an Organization in Special Consultative Status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2014. He was founder-trustee, and first elected president of Energy Service Company Association of the Philippines.