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THE Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) is unlikely reach its target of having renewable energy make up 23 per cent of its total primary energy supply by 2025, indicated the latest Asean energy outlook report.

As at 2022, renewable energy accounts for only 15 per cent of the total energy supply in the region, making it challenging for the goal to be reached within three years, stated the report that was released on Friday (Sep 27).

“Despite the progress, Asean faces challenges in accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels, balancing ambitious targets with feasibility, and addressing constraints related to biomass reliability and infrastructure investments for emerging technologies,” it said.

However, if each of the 10 Asean member state were to implement its energy transition policies, including power development plans, renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency and conservation, the target would be achieved by 2030.

Under this scenario, the share of renewables in Asean’s primary energy supply would hit 38.1 per cent by 2050.

Asean, however, has managed to reached 33.6 per cent in renewable energy’s share in installed capacity in 2022. It has set a target of 35 per cent by 2025.

It would be on track to surpass this target and hit 39.6 per cent if it continues to implement its planned energy transition policies.

By 2050, the share of renewable energy in installed capacity is expected to reach 69.4 per cent.

One of the biggest impediments in scaling the share of renewable energy supply is the lack of financing.

The power sector faces high upfront costs and low margins since power generation requires significant infrastructure.

The power investment cost across various scenarios shows an upward trend by 2050 as the scale of additional installed capacity is projected to increase.

Moreover, the region will experience massive power investment costs in the longer term for additional capacity infrastructure and to meet the electricity demand.

The annual power investment required between 2023 and 2030 is estimated to be between US$20 billion and US$56 billion.

The amount is projected to jump between US$28 billion and US$371 billion for the years between 2041 and 2050.

To drive a just and sustainable energy transition in Asean, the report stated, it would be essential to enhance energy efficiency, diversify renewable energy sources and integrate advanced technologies such as smart grids and hybrid systems.

Regional cooperation, supportive policies and inclusive stakeholder engagement will also be crucial to ensure energy security, affordability and resilience.

Some key considerations in future energy planning should include:

• Enhancing energy efficiency standards across buildings, appliances and industrial processes through a harmonised framework;

• Investing in energy-efficient machinery, technologies and optimising industrial processes;

• Promoting smart demand response in the power sector to optimise energy use, as well as improving grid efficiency and integrating renewable energy sources;

• Expanding electrification efforts to underserved rural communities with a focus on local involvement and capacity building;

• Promoting energy diversification in the industrial and transportation sectors and encouraging the use of biomass, biofuels and electric vehicles;

• Exploring alternative long-term energy sources, such as hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels, for decarbonisation;

• Diversifying renewable energy sources (hydro, geothermal, bioenergy, solar, wind) to reduce reliance on any single source and promote grid-scale energy storage technologies;

• Developing hybrid systems that combine renewable energy with conventional fuels to ensure grid stability;

• Modernising electrical grids and investing in smart grid technologies to handle variable renewable inputs;

• Balancing the shift to cleaner energy sources with energy security by considering natural gas, carbon capture, and storage as transitional technologies;

• Setting a carbon price, along with other effective measures to address the concerns about increasing energy prices and industrial competitiveness.