ASEAN Energy Booklet 2025 - Volume 1: Coal and Clean Coal Technology in ASEAN

Key Highlights

• As ASEAN continues to balance energy security and affordability, Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) are expected to play a new role in the impending energy transition. Strengthened collaboration among ASEAN Member States (AMS) is essential to accelerate the adoption of CCT to improve regulatory frameworks, and enhance public awareness of advanced coal technologies.
• ASEAN’s commitment to clean coal innovation is evident through the deployment of High-Efficiency, Low-Emissions (HELE) technologies such as ultra-supercritical and advanced ultra-supercritical (A-USC) boilers. These innovations significantly improve coal-fired power plant efficiency while reducing emissions, supporting the region’s low-carbon development goals. These advanced systems significantly improve efficiency, with A-USC boilers reaching efficiency rates up to 50%—far surpassing the traditional subcritical boilers (around 38%). Consequently, the adoption of HELE technologies substantially reduces both coal consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per megawatt-hour, aligning ASEAN’s coal sector with global environmental benchmarks.
• Governmental actions, including incentives for CCT deployment and policy frameworks on biomass co-firing, are critical in mitigating coal-related emissions. AMS have introduced regulatory measures to support biomass co-firing, which contributes to emissions reduction while diversifying the energy mix. Notable projects exemplifying this approach include Indonesia’s Paiton Power Plant Units 1 and 2—presently the largest biomass co-firing facility in Southeast Asia—as well as the Hotelkamp Power Plant in Papua, Indonesia, which has achieved the region’s highest biomass co-firing mix.