Photo 1. Assoc. Prof Kulyos Audomvongseree, Head of Energy Research Cluster at Chulalongkorn University with Dr Zulfikar Yurnaidi, AEO7 Team Lead/Manager of Energy Modelling and Policy Planning, ACE

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) visited Chulalongkorn University and co-hosted a dissemination of the 7th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO7) and study on “Attracting Investments for ASEAN Low-Carbon Energy Dissemination” on 9 June 2023. Following the success of the AEO7 Dissemination Roadshows in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, and Singapore, ACE continued to arrange this activity in Thailand. Held physically in the Chulalongkorn University, enthusiastically attended the conference. 

Delivering the welcoming remarks in the opening session, Dr Zulfikar Yurnaidi, Manager of Energy Modelling and Policy Planning (MPP) of ACE, stressed the significance of the AEO7 to support ASEAN Energy policy and planning under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC). Sharing this view, Assoc. Prof. Kulyos Audomvongseree, Director of Energy Research Institute (ERI), Chulalongkorn University, affirmed his gratitude for the opportunity to exchange knowledge on AEO7 and its related study.  

The first session of the dissemination was dedicated to the recall of the regional energy landscape and policy, particularly in Thailand, by Dr Weerin Wangjiraniran, Researcher of ERI, Chulalongkorn University. On that basis, Dr Zulfikar Yurnaidi introduced the ASEAN Energy Outlook as the flagship report for understanding the energy landscape in the region. This was explained along with how the analysed data transformed into a comprehensive study of the energy system. In his presentation, he also shared an overview of the 7th edition of the AEO that incorporates a new scenario, Least-Cost Optimisation, to explore the potential future in achieving the APAEC target.  

In the second session, participants focused on the AEO7 modelling findings to enhance comprehension of the regional energy landscape in every aspect. Ms Amira Bilqis, an Analyst of MPP of ACE, walked the participants through this discourse and explained the AEO7 projection for regional energy systems in the future. Based on the AEO7, the renewable energy progress slowed down in the future as its only reached 14.2% share of the total primary energy supply in 2020. Moreover, the study also projected a potential for green job creation due, to providing up to 5.5 million new jobs, to strong renewable deployment in the region.  

In this amicable atmosphere, the dissemination also presented a new related study on low-carbon investment supported by the Energy Foundation China. Ms Rika Safrina, Senior Analyst of MPP of ACE, outlined each AMS investment status for the clean energy project. According to the AEO7, the total required investment from 2021-2050 is expected to be USD 1,070 billion, but the region has limited public finance, which dominates its current financial source of clean energy investment. Therefore, this study proposed a Roadmap with several pathways to determine the most concerning issues in the respective country to build their capacity to attract more investments in the low-carbon sector.  

Photo 2. ACE and Energy Research Cluster ResearchersInstitute at Chulalongkorn University Researchers

In the end, the dissemination sparked a more profound discussion among participants to break down complex issues on the regional energy system. This was marked as the end of the dissemination agenda and concluded a fruitful recommendation for the following study. In the future, ACE hope that this dissemination could move ahead with closer cooperation with Chulalongkorn University in the future.