In 2021, transaction value for renewable energy assets in Asia increased more than threefold to US$13.6 billion, with transaction volume surging to 75, up 53% year over year, according to Enerdatics, a Bangalore-based research company. Large business mergers in the solar energy sector fueled the significant increase in value.
Enerdatics said in its report that the solar sector leads the renewables mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape in Asia, accounting for 66% of overall deal volume and 78% of total deal value in 2021.
According to the company’s data, the necessity for renewable energy sources to meet residential electricity demand, along with declining installation costs and land availability constraints, small-scale community solar and rooftop PV projects are growing. Transactions for sub-50MW portfolios of assets thus increased by roughly 50% year over year in 2021.
The report also indicates that favorable legislative changes in Southeast Asian countries like India and Vietnam are also prompting solar company expansion in Asia. The Indian government has set a lofty target of 280 GW of solar capacity by 2030. To achieve this goal, the country has invested $600 million in incentive programs to boost the development of solar energy equipment, as well as capital subsidies, tax reductions, and PPA guarantees for small-scale solar systems
Another key development is the establishment of strategic ties in East Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, with the goal of constructing large-scale offshore wind projects, according to Enerdatics. JVs have been formed by oil majors like Equinor and TotalEnergies, private equity firms like BlackRock, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and Macquarie, as well as seasoned power utilities like SSE, Iberdrola, and JERA to plant a foothold in the region.
The development of offshore wind projects in these countries is being driven by government objectives, such as Japan's target of deploying 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040, including floating wind. Taiwan has also announced that between 2026 and 2031, it expects to build 1.5 GW of offshore wind power per year, and a further 15 GW by 2035.
Enerdatics suggests in the report that floating solar is another promising technology, and it is gaining momentum in countries such as India, Singapore, and Indonesia. For Asian countries, promoting the deployment of affordable renewable energy but with limited access to land resources is one of the drivers behind the rise of floating solar systems in Asia.
