Photo 1. The Group Photo of the Lao PDR Host, RE-SSN Chair, and representatives from ASEAN Member States, ASEAN Secretariat, and ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) in the 22nd Evaluation Meeting of BOJ for Renewable Energy Project Awards of ASEAN Energy Awards 2023 

The 22^nd Evaluation Meeting of the Board of Judges (BOJ) for the Renewable Energy Project Awards of ASEAN Energy Awards 2023 was conducted in the hybrid mode on 2 May 2023. The event was opened with welcoming remarks from Mr Khammanh Sopraseurth, Deputy Director General at the Department of Energy Efficiency and Promotion Ministry of Energy and Mines of Lao PDR. Mr Sopraseurth highlighted the important role of renewable energy in the energy transition and shared Lao PDR’s plans to increase their share of renewable energy.

Following Mr Sopraseurth’s remarks, Mr Christopher G. Zamora, Senior Manager of ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), congratulated all the nominees and acknowledged the increased quantity and quality of submissions for the ASEAN Energy Awards 2023. He also mentioned that this was the first time the meeting was conducted offline after three years of virtual meetings.

The session was then followed by statements from the BOJ Chair (Lao PDR) – Mr Boualom Saysanavong, Chief of Biomass Energy Promotion Division at the Department of Energy Efficiency and Promotion, Lao PDR Ministry of Energy and Mines, and BOJ Vice Chair (Malaysia) – Mr Saiful Hakim Abdul Rahman, Director Strategic Planning Division, SEDA, Malaysia. Both expressed their gratitude to Lao PDR and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) for organising the event and congratulated all the participating countries for their submissions. They emphasised the importance of the ASEAN Energy Awards in promoting innovation in the energy industry and acknowledged the impressive projects submitted by some of the participants.

Mr Saiful emphasised that the event is not only to find winners but also to promote the values of the projects and possibly duplicate them in other countries. He hopes that every country could support this kind of award and that it could serve as a reference point for the other ASEAN Member States. Overall, the 22^nd Evaluation Meeting of the Board of Judges for the Renewable Energy Project Awards of ASEAN Energy Awards 2023 was a successful event that brought together key regional stakeholders to promote the importance of renewable energy and recognise outstanding projects in the field.

The session continued with the BOJ Feedback, Finalisation, and Scores Submission for all categories of the ASEAN Energy Awards 2023 entries, which was moderated by BOJ Chair.

The number of submissions for this year’s awards increased compared to the previous year, from 25 to 35 submissions. During this session, every country commented on the issues in the submissions that potentially did not align with the submission guidelines.

The Meeting also discussed the proposals for the ASEAN RE Projects Awards guideline for 2024 and followed by Roundtable Discussion on the next year’s guidelines for the awards, where each participating country offered feedback and recommendations concerning various aspects such as the quality of submissions, the scoring system, the awarding ceremony, and the promotion and dissemination of the awards. The winners and runners-up would be announced during the 41st ASEAN Ministers of Energy Meeting (AMEM) on August 2023. The results will also be updated on the ASEAN Energy Award webpage.

The Meeting ended by summarising the winners from each category of the ASEAN Energy Awards and highlighting suggestions for next year’s guidelines provided by participating countries. Subsequently, Mr Boualom Saysanavong, Chief of Biomass Energy Promotion Division, Department of Energy Efficiency and Promotion, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Lao PDR, delivered the closing remarks. He appreciated all participants and the board of judges for their involvement in this significant event. He emphasised the importance of the annual awards in promoting renewable energy development and strongly recommended its continuation. Finally, Mr Christopher G Zamora, Senior Manager of the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), delivered additional closing remarks on behalf of Dr Nuki Agya Utama, Executive Director at ACE. He emphasised that the event is a vital endeavour to drive the energy transition. He expressed confidence that through continued efforts, the regional targets of achieving a 23% share of renewable energy in Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) and a 35% share in ASEAN installed power capacity can be reached within the next two years.

Further links:

1. ASEAN Energy Award webpage: here
2. ASEAN Energy Business Forum webpage: here
3. The 30^th RE-SSN Meeting and Associated Meetings:

• Focus Group Discussion on ASEAN Renewable Energy Long-term Roadmap: here
• Workshop of Offshore Wind+ Energy Potential and Applications in ASEAN: here
• Focus Group Discussion on Plans and Policies for Electric Vehicles in ASEAN Member States: here
• 30^th RE-SSN Annual Meeting: here