A splash of Asian flair Minh Khoi Le (Norway), Jun Yee Chew (Singapore), Dian Yu (Norway), Pratheeksha R (India), and Ramit Ittan (India), Rystad Energy, investigate the range of renewables in Asia Pacific, and outline their hugely promising future in the region.
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he global energy transition effort has greatly accelerated since 2020 with more countries setting carbon-neutral targets. In Asia Pacific (APAC), China and Japan – two of the world’s top three economies – agreed to 2060 and 2050 targets, respectively. Renewables in both countries have experienced dramatic growth over the last decade, spearheading technology developments and driving cost reductions. The growth of renewable energy has also been significant in other APAC countries including South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand, where gigawatts of solar, wind, and storage have been installed in recent years. As of mid-2021, Asia (excluding the Indian subcontinent) accounts for 40% of the global installed utility scale renewable capacity. The region continues to witness strong economic growth and hence, rising power demand. Amid a fossil-fuels-dominated power mix, there are plenty of untapped opportunities for renewable energy in APAC. As things stand, APAC and central Asia can expect 40% growth in installed capacity, to approximately 780 GW, by 2025. However, with
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ENERGY GLOBAL AUTUMN 2021
