ASEAN members states chart course to renewable energy future

ASEAN members states chart course to renewable energy future

Energy Ministers from across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) met on 23rd September at the 34th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting
(AMEM) to accelerate efforts to boost renewable energy deployment in the
region.

ASEAN Member States are currently on track to source 17 per cent of their
combined total primary energy supply from renewables by 2025. To achieve the
target of 23 per cent by 2025 set by ASEAN at the 33rd AMEM, the region must
rapidly accelerate the deployment of renewables.

To help enable the needed energy transition, the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) gave Ministers a
preview of a soon-to-be-released joint study on the potentials, costs, and
benefits of renewable energy in the region.

Renewable Energy Outlook for ASEAN – a REmap analysis, provides detailed
technological and sectoral options for ASEAN countries to close the gap
between the current and targeted share of renewables in the regional energy
mix.

"ASEAN Member States are endowed with some of the best renewable energy
resources in the world," said Adnan Z. Amin, IRENA Director-General. "The
analysis from IRENA and ACE shows that reaching the 23 per cent target in
the ASEAN region is not only feasible, but cheaper than the alternative.
Doing so however will require more emphasis on renewables across all
sectors, including heating, cooking and transport."

Sanjayan Velautham, ACE Executive Director added that "This study will help
ASEAN achieve its aspirational renewable energy target. Beyond that, it will
also help the region achieve the four pillars under the ASEAN Plan of Action
for Energy Cooperation: energy security, accessibility, affordability and
sustainability for all."

According to the study, the combined energy demand of the ten ASEAN Member
States – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic
Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam – will grow 50 per cent by 2025.

This will increase emissions by 60 per cent and generate USD 225 billion per
year in associated health and pollution costs. When considering these added
costs, the savings generated through achieving a 23 per cent share of
renewables are greater than the increased investment required to do so.

"While the share of renewables each Member State can realistically achieve
varies, the fact remains that all ASEAN countries can contribute to the 23
per cent goal in their own way," said Dolf Gielen, Director of IRENA's
Innovation and Technology Centre. "We hope this new joint study will help
chart the course for more action on renewables in the region."

To date, the study has engaged all 10 ASEAN Member States and more than 60
experts through in-depth technical workshops and review webinars. It has
also received support from the Renewable Energy Support Programme for ASEAN,
a project jointly implemented by ACE and Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry
for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The full study is expected to be released in October, 2016.

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com