The Energy Market Authority of Singapore (EMA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) hosted a roundtable discussion in Abu Dhabi on 14 January 2020. This event was held on the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit, over the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week 2020, with lively discussions centred around renewable energy in Southeast Asia.
The session began with Ms. Badariah Yosiyana (IRENA) presenting on the importance of renewable energy in the face of rising emissions.
Weighing in on what this means for the Philippines, Ms. Marissa Cerezo (Renewable Energy Management Bureau of the Philippines) said that the country "still (has) untapped geothermal energy resources, and of course solar, wind and hydro(power)”, further elaborating they “look forward to having accelerated commercialisation of (hydropower) energy."
Giving the Singapore perspective, Ms. Desiree Tung (EMA) spoke about the “four switches” that will accelerate sustainable energy transformation for the country: natural gas, solar, regional power grid and low carbon alternatives.
At the roundtable discussion, the speakers discussed the challenges with regards to implementing renewable solutions in their respective markets. Ms. Cerezo shared about the main barriers in the Philippines – namely public awareness and lack of investment for the renewable energy sector. Ms. Tung highlighted the 4Rs approach to accelerate renewable energy deployment in Singapore: right pricing, regulation reduction, raising demand, and research and development.
Both speakers and participants commended that the session was useful with an increased understanding of what it takes to increase renewable energy deployment in Southeast Asia.
“Southeast Asia really needs to accelerate their renewable energy deployment considering the energy demand is growing significantly,” said Ms. Yosiyana, Programme Officer, IRENA. “I am so glad to hear that the Philippines and Singapore are very aggressive in their renewable energy targets.”
Fairuz Mohamad, Field Engineer, MIT Technologies, shared that the discussion was useful as he was able to learn more about renewable energy policies in Southeast Asia.
The SIEW Global Launch will be happening in Singapore in March 2020, we look forward to exchanging further energy insights at the event
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