How ASEAN can achieve a 23% renewable energy supply by 2025
Achieving a 23 per cent share of renewables in ASEAN’s primary energy supply by 2025 requires a concerted effort from its member states, said panellists at a roundtable hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) at Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).
By Alex Lim Yew Hua
Achieving a 23 per cent share of renewables in ASEAN’s primary energy supply by 2025 requires a concerted effort from its member states, said panellists at a roundtable hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) at Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).
A diverse approach to advancing renewables in ASEAN must be adopted, given the region’s significant heterogeneity which limits the benefits of regional knowledge exchange, said Maria-Jose Poddey, Principal Adviser, Renewable Energy Support Programme for ASEAN (ASEAN-RESP) GIZ.
Renewables are already cost-competitive – and are even more so when savings generated by reduced externalities from increased use of renewables are factored in, said Sakari Oksanen, Deputy Director-General, IRENA. To achieve the 23 per cent target, mobilising finance to double the investment in renewables is key, he added.
Building an enabling environment for this is therefore necessary. Dr Sanjayan Velautham, Executive Director, ACE, shared how appropriate feed-in tariffs, simplified permit procedures, attractive incentives, and financing support mechanisms can be policy tools to encourage the growth of renewables.
With the emergence of prosumers, enhancing the regulatory framework to accommodate new business models in renewable energy is also important, said Eugene Toh, Director (Policy), Energy Planning and Development Division, Energy Market Authority (EMA), Singapore.
Dr Karnnalin Theerarattanannon, Engineer, Energy Research Bureau, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, added that using a hybrid of dispatchable and non-dispatchable renewable energy is also another means of helping ASEAN reach its renewable energy target.
That said, the panel agreed that regional cooperation, as well as stable, transparent and consistent policy, are still essential to ensuring concrete action on the variety of measures discussed, that will help ASEAN achieve its renewable goal.