Southeast Asian countries eye regional power grid

A regional power grid for Southeast Asia has been proposed, with first trials set for 2022, as regional countries are speeding up their renewable energy transmission plans in efforts to meet climate change targets.

Some ASEAN members are exploring carbon capture storage (CCS) technology to reduce emissions. The bloc has proposed that 23 percent of primary energy come from renewable sources by 2025, heard the Singapore International Energy Week conference this week.

The announcements came ahead of the United Nations COP26 climate summit starting in Glasgow, the UK, on October 31. This event is considered one of the last opportunities for countries to announce firm targets for cutting emissions this decade.

"ASEAN are really looking at bringing in almost one-quarter of the energy from renewables by 2025,” Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said, describing this as a very ambitious goal.

She held that the international cooperation and regional cooperation are going to play a very important role.

The idea of an ASEAN grid, first proposed in 1999 to enhance regional energy security, will now facilitate renewable power transmission.

ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi said ASEAN will need at least 367 billion USD in the next five years to finance its energy goals. It needs to improve its investment environment and also expand beyond its current sources of finance to reach its energy transition targets./.

VNA