Southeast Asia

A regional power grid could help governments in their renewable energy transition.

It is driven by rapid economic growth and population increase.

Adding new coal plants and retrofitting existing ones are a larger risk to the transition.

Keppel’s importer licence was also extended to support this move.

Fossil fuels make up 83% of ASEAN energy mix. With energy needs expected to triple by 2050 compared to 2020 levels, the urgency for a low-carbon transition is clear. Nine ASEAN countries have committed to reaching net zero or carbon neutrality by mid-century.

These are in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Without any mitigation measures, the energy demand of ASEAN in 2050 is projected to increase by triple the 2020 value due to the population and economic growth of the region. Coal is projected to account for the significant shares for approximately 43% and 22% of the total ASEAN’s electricity generation and primary energy supply in 2050, respectively.

Vietnam recently allowed large consumers to directly procure from clean energy producers. 

Indonesia’s Perusahaan Listrik Negara is the region’s top developer.

The sector’s investment will reach between $12b to $70b.

However, GEM said the region’s growing demand could be met by renewable energy.

This could happen in a scenario where sharing of resources is “unconstrained.”

This will boost Southeast Asia’s clean energy shift.

Fossil fuel will still account for the largest share in energy consumption.

This is despite the slight decline of renewables’ share in the total capacity in 2022.

CEO Glenn Lim explains how a delay turned out good as the company aims to reach 667 MW of capacity by 2026.