The Asian region
is about to sign
the Regional
Comprehensive
Economic
Partnership
(RCEP) treaty.
RCEP will be the
largest free trade
agreement
in the world,
affecting 3.5 billion
people and a
combined GDP
of $22.6 trillion.
Southeast Asia's
economic expansion
is increasing energy
consumption, along with
the growing population.
Approximately 100 GW
of coal-fired power plants
are planned, with 30 GW
already under construction.
Asia is a major market
for coal producers.
Asia accounts for 85%
of the word's top 20
coal-producing countries.
Indonesia is the largest
net coal exporter globally.
China is the world’s largest
investor in renewables,
but also a big exporter
of coal-fired power plants.
In 2018, the China Development
Bank and China Export-Import
Bank invested $25.6 billion
n energy projects abroad ,
especially coal-fired
power plants in Indonesia,
Vietnam, and Malaysia.
The IEA expects
demand for coal
in Southeast Asia
to double, to almost
400 million tons,
by 2040.
Keisuke Sadamori,
the IEA’s director, said:
“Coal is rather resistant
because it is affordable.
It is really hard for
Southeast Asian
countries to move
away from affordable
coal immediately.”
Coal is cheap and relatively
abundant across the region:
Coal’s revival in Asia
is largely offsetting
dropping consumption
in Europe and
North America,
According to
Wood Mackenzie's
research associate
Jacqueline Tao,
"the reality of rising power demand
and affordability issues in the (Asian)
region means that we will only start t
o see coal's declining power post-2030."
Currently,
coal-generated
power is subsidized.
Tariffs on the import
of wind turbines and
solar panels
n some countries
hampers their growth.
Indonesia, the world's
largest archipelago,
has a geography
that makes infrastructure
connectivity expensive.
Large scale
renewables projects
benefit from a high level
of integration to reduce
local problems with
intermittent power
output.