Renewables are economically efficient for ASEAN, East Asia - report

Sep 9, 2013 - Despite high costs at present, renewable power projects will prove to be “economically efficient” for countries in East Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to the managing director of the ERIA.

ERIA stands for the Economic Research Institute for the ASEAN and East Asia.

The Brunei Times cited Hidetoshi Nishimura as saying that the deployment of renewable energy technologies and energy saving equipment will help countries in the region reduce their use of fossil fuels. He spoke at the opening ceremony on Sunday of the East Asia Summit Energy Cooperation Task Force (EAS ECTF) in Brunei.

At the event, Nishimura also revealed ERIA’s Energy Outlook report according to which the share of renewables in power generation in ASEAN and East Asia could reach 6.1% by 2035 in a business-as-usual scenario. In addition, large-scale hydropower’s share is estimated at 11.7% and that of gas power has been put at 17.3%. Coal-fired power plants will produce 56.3% of the region’s power by 2035.

Under the alternate-policy scenario of ERIA, which takes into account new policies to support energy saving and renewables, the share of green energy is much higher at around 12.7%, Nishimura was quoted as saying. The ERIA head called for the introduction of supportive policies such as feed-in tariffs and research and development financing in order to cut the cost of renewable power generation in that part of Asia and ensure stable power supply, The Brunei Times said.

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