(Photo: Freepik)
Wind and Solar capacity in the ASEAN region increased by 20% in 2023, bringing the total to over 28 GW. According to a new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM), the technologies now account 9% of electricity generating capacity in ASEAN countries.
Combined with a substantial base of hydropower, the growth in wind and solar brings the bloc close to its renewable energy capacity goal of 35% by 2025, GEM says.
Building an additional 17GW of utility-scale solar and wind projects in the next two years would be sufficient to achieve the target, it adds.
There is currently a total of 222 GW of announced, pre-construction and construction-stage utility-scale wind and solar capacity in ASEAN, according to GEM. Though now only 6 GW of these is being built.
However, ASEAN collectively have one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and have shown rapid recent electricity demand growth of 22% per year between 2015 and 2021. This has translated into continued support for gas and coal power in the region, even though demand growth is predicted to slow.
