Achieving renewable energies utilization target in South-East Asia: Progress, challenges, and recommendations

National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0053, Japan
The South-East Asian countries together have a target to increase the component of renewable energy in their primary energy supply to 23 % by 2025. However, there is a different starting point for the individual country members based on their natural conditions and specific political and regulatory frameworks. The Association of South-East Asia Nations (ASEAN), as the regional-cooperation organization, does not have the authority to intervene in the countries’ national policy for renewable energy. It can only provide inputs to develop renewable energy. However, that can also be challenging because it does not have a portal to access each member’s development of renewable energy utilization. This study aims to observe each ASEAN member’s progress by analyzing historical data. This study also reviews some academic papers to summarize the challenges and obstacles faced by each country. The result suggests that regionally, ASEAN members still rely highly on fossil fuels, especially the total primary supply. Moreover, the share of traditional biomass is also very high. Although, data shows that its use has started to reduce as countries gradually shift to other energy options, unfortunately, mostly to fossil fuel. However, power generation has developed in a positive direction. Historical data shows an increase in renewable energy use for power generation, mainly due to the higher utilization of hydropower. Furthermore, it is strongly recommended for ASEAN to build a monitoring portal of renewable energy to track the progress, so it can provide more precise policy recommendations to its members and establish better energy cooperation between each member in the future.

Cite:

Marissa Malahayati, Achieving renewable energies utilization target in South-East Asia: Progress, challenges, and recommendations, The Electricity Journal, Volume 33, Issue 5, 2020, 106736, ISSN 1040-6190, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tej.2020.106736.