ASEAN’s clean power pathways: 2024 insights

ASEAN's electricity demand grew by 3.6% in 2023, a rise entirely met by fossil fuels, leading to a 6.6% increase in power sector emissions. While solar and wind costs are falling, the region remains heavily dependent on coal and gas, and hydropower has become less reliable due to climate-induced droughts. The report argues that scaling renewable capacity by 3-5x by 2035, implementing direct power purchase agreements, and expanding the ASEAN Power Grid are essential to meet rising demand and climate goals. It also highlights the potential for a regional compliance carbon market and the importance of a just transition to secure social acceptance.

• In 2023, ASEAN's electricity demand increased by 45 TWh (3.6%), and this entire growth was supplied by fossil fuels, resulting in a 6.6% rise in power sector emissions to 718 million tonnes of CO2.
• Hydropower generation decreased by 21 TWh in 2023 despite an addition of 0.5 GW in capacity, illustrating the vulnerability of the region's clean energy supply to climate-driven droughts.
• Solar and wind are among the most cost-competitive new generation options in ASEAN, whereas bioenergy is the most expensive renewable source, with LCOE in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand ranging from $59-98 USD per MWh.
• To align with various decarbonisation pathways, ASEAN must increase its renewable energy capacity by three to five times the 2023 levels by 2035.
• Several ASEAN nations are introducing mechanisms for direct renewable power purchases to support industrial demand: Viet Nam approved a Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA) scheme, Thailand is developing a Third Party Access (TPA) Framework, and Malaysia plans a TPA scheme starting September 2024.
• The Philippines has recently removed foreign ownership restrictions on renewable energy businesses, which contributed to record-high investment levels this year.
• ASEAN countries are implementing diverse rooftop solar policies: Viet Nam has a pilot for selling excess power, Thailand offers tax reductions for small installations, the Philippines enables peer-to-peer trading, and Indonesia set an annual quota of 1 GW for PLN-connected systems.
• Regional power interconnection is progressing, with eight of 18 planned interconnections completed, providing 7.7 GW of cross-border transmission capacity as of July 2023.
• There is significant potential for a regional compliance carbon market; currently, Singapore is the only ASEAN country with a carbon tax, though Thailand, Malaysia, and Viet Nam are developing pricing or trading mechanisms.
• A just transition could significantly offset job losses in the fossil fuel sector; in Indonesia, over 1 million new jobs in renewables could offset 31,000 losses from the transition.

APA

Setyawati, D., & Nadhila, S. (2024). ASEAN’s clean power pathways: 2024 insights. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Report-ASEANs-clean-power-pathways-2024.pdf

Chicago

Setyawati, Dinita, and Shabrina Nadhila. ASEAN’s clean power pathways: 2024 insights. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Report-ASEANs-clean-power-pathways-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Setyawati |first1=Dinita |last2=Nadhila |first2=Shabrina |title=ASEAN’s clean power pathways: 2024 insights |publisher=Ember |date=22 October 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Report-ASEANs-clean-power-pathways-2024.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{setyawati2024aseans, author = {Setyawati, Dinita and Nadhila, Shabrina}, title = {{ASEAN’s clean power pathways: 2024 insights}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Report-ASEANs-clean-power-pathways-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }