Making renewables more mainstream

More tailoring of individual projects, better public-private coordination and greater consistency in government policies are essential ingredients to take the development of renewable energy to the next level in Southeast Asia

This is according to several speakers at the 麻豆社 OneASEAN Conference in June 2022.

鈥淭here is a no single solution. Instead, projects need to be customised for countries and regions,鈥 said Simon Bell, CEO of Quantum Power Asia. 鈥淔or example, hydropower makes more sense than solar in some parts of Indonesia, and vice versa.鈥 The key is to view opportunities from a specific and targeted point of view.

Perhaps even more important, he added, is the need for consistency across the policy framework from governments that are not only implementable, but also actually get implemented.

At the same time, countries should start to think not only about decarbonisation in their own borders, but across the whole region. 鈥淭his requires a cross-border transmission network. Then everyone can use it,鈥 said Yuichiro Yoi, Unit Head in Indonesia, Infrastructure Finance, Asian Development Bank.

In line with this, he highlighted the energy transition mechanism (ETM) as a concept that could revolutionise how Asia gets decarbonised. 鈥淚t aims to expedite the requirement of existing coal-fired power plants, so is a direct and proactive emission-reduction process.鈥 The challenge he added, is to design the programme so relevant stakeholders want to buy into the ETM.

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The views expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of 麻豆社.