As the pivot to an energy future dominated by renewables continues, the Southeast Asian region will need to prioritise its plans for integration. Our correspondent Tze Yong explains how.
As the global energy landscape becomes more digitalised, decentralised and decarbonised, now is the perfect time to discuss the opportunities and challenges of integrating and scaling up the deployment of renewables in Southeast Asia (SEA).
H.E. Dr. Ty Norin, Cambodia’s Secretary of State, Ministry of Mines and Energy, opened the panel by sharing Cambodia’s pipeline projects in renewables. The country is also planning to integrate a wide range of renewables such as solar, biomass, wind and hydro energy – beyond the country’s existing dependence on conventional generation – by 2040.
In a panel discussion moderated by Michael Waldron, Head of Investment Team, Energy Supply and Investment Outlooks Division at the International Energy Agency, the session started with an open question on the barriers for renewables integration in the energy landscape for SEA.
The CEO of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority of Malaysia, Ir. Dr. Sanjayan Velautham, shared three key challenges. These are technological and technical challenges, policies and regulatory frameworks and the high cost of financing while bringing in the right partners to integrate renewables.
Even though these may be challenges, Ir. Dr. Sanjayan remains confident that these also are the three vital ingredients that will speed up the adoption of renewables in SEA.
The President and CEO of Senoko Energy, Mr. Bernard Esselinckx, agreed while giving his predecessor’s remarks an added Singaporean context. He shared that solar energy is the most viable renewable source in Singapore even as the country is constrained by the scarcity of land.
He added that the situation is exacerbated by low wholesale prices, which was a result of the oversupply of generation capacity today.
Mr. Philippe Monloubou, Chairman of the Managing Board, Enedis, brought a new perspective to the table, sharing opportunities in the energy landscape. Mr. Monloubou noted that there are strong expectations for economic growth and increased adoption of renewables in SEA. He also anticipated that there will be increased emphasis on electrification, so he foresees that there will be more policies in place to enable the adoption of renewables.
Regarding finding the right balance between conventional generation and renewable sources, the panel agreed that there would not be “one generation mix” that could fit all the countries. It is critical to consider the cost and system stability to create a reliable and secure supply.
Ranjit Lamech, Infrastructure Director (East Asia and the Pacific) of World Bank, stated that the worst-case scenario for renewable integration was to displace natural gas instead of coal. He emphasised that the right policy framework has to be in place while we continue to pursue a greater integration of renewables.
Kazuhiro Takeuchi, President and CEO of Japan Renewable Energy (JRE), added that it is important to differentiate between long-term and short-term targets. In the longer term, the target is to be net-zero emission; in the short term, it is more relevant to look at cost and system stability to determine the optimal blend of renewables in relation to conventional generation.
To determine the right blend, Kevin Hart, Asia Pacific Regional Leader, GE Power Digital and GE New Zealand Country Leader, shared the importance of using and analysing data to unlock the potential for renewable growth.
Overall, the panel recognised that renewable adoption is slow in SEA relative to other parts of the world, but that there are massive opportunities for industry and government to work together to accelerate the deployment of renewables for SEA.