Unleashing solar and wind in ASEAN

The report finds that while electricity demand in the 'ASEAN 5' (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam) grew by 22% from 2015 to 2021, clean energy only met 39% of this increase. Solar and wind generation remains low at 4% of the region's electricity supply, lagging behind China and India. Current national plans project solar and wind will reach 11% of the total supply by 2030, which the authors argue is insufficient to meet the 1.5-degree pathway or keep pace with rising demand, potentially leading to further reliance on coal.

• Between 2015 and 2021, electricity demand in the ASEAN 5 grew by 22%, outstripping the global average growth of 17%. Clean electricity generation only met 39% of this demand increase, while 48% was met by fossil fuels, resulting in a 21% increase in power sector CO2 emissions.
• Solar and wind energy deployment in the ASEAN 5 is lagging compared to global peers. In 2021, solar and wind generated only 4% of the region's electricity, whereas China and India reached 11% and 8% respectively. Only Viet Nam exceeded the global average of 10% for solar and wind generation.
• Current national energy plans for the ASEAN 5 project that the share of solar and wind in the total electricity supply will rise to 11% by 2030. However, this is considered insufficient to align with the IEA's 1.5-degree pathway, as it represents less than half of the IEA target.
• Country-specific 2030 projections for solar and wind shares vary significantly: Viet Nam is expected to reach 18%, the Philippines 16.5%, Thailand 9.6%, Malaysia 3.4%, and Indonesia 2%.
• Viet Nam experienced a significant solar boom between 2020 and 2021, with solar generation increasing by 337%, driven by supportive policies including generous Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), income tax exemptions, and land-lease payment exemptions for utility-scale investors.
• The report identifies that limited grid transmission capacity in Indonesia and Viet Nam is hindering the implementation of solar development targets, necessitating a holistic policy approach to reconfigure electricity systems.

APA

Edianto, A. S., & Lee, U. (2022). Unleashing solar and wind in ASEAN. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/07/Unleashing-Solar-and-Wind-in-ASEAN.pdf

Chicago

Edianto, Achmed Shahram, and Uni Lee. Unleashing solar and wind in ASEAN. Ember, 2022. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/07/Unleashing-Solar-and-Wind-in-ASEAN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Edianto |first1=Achmed Shahram |last2=Lee |first2=Uni |title=Unleashing solar and wind in ASEAN |publisher=Ember |date=7 July 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/07/Unleashing-Solar-and-Wind-in-ASEAN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{edianto2022unleashing, author = {Edianto, Achmed Shahram and Lee, Uni}, title = {{Unleashing solar and wind in ASEAN}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/07/Unleashing-Solar-and-Wind-in-ASEAN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }