By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
SINGAPORE — Capital for developing energy-transition projects in Asia is unevenly distributed, hindering the industry’s efforts, analysts said at the Asia Clean Energy Summit here Tuesday.
“The main question actually, is there enough money coming into the right projects? Are they going to the right locations? And overall, are we contributing where we should in order to transition?” according to Diana Parusheva-Lowery, managing director and head of public policy and sustainable financial at Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association.
Ms. Parusheva-Lowery said that the “money flow is not distributed equally.”
She said everyone in the industries involved should work with the financial sector to identify where the technological opportunities lie.
“I think the bottom line is that within the governmental and policy framework, you can create enough enablers, and we still live in a world that there are bank-quality invested projects, which everybody knows, and we have a lot of competition there,” she said.
Jun Wei Ong, vice-president for Asia private credit at Allianz Global Investors, said that while the global investment management firm focuses on India and Saudi Arabia, there are very strong markets like the Philippines and Thailand.
The Philippines has set an ambitious goal of increasing the share of renewable energy to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.
“The Philippines becomes a regional example — proof that an emerging economy can commit to and achieve an energy transition,” Jay Joel L. Soriano, vice-president and head of strategy and planning at First Gen Corp.
He highlighted geothermal as the “most reliable clean energy of all” as it can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Yet geothermal often goes unseen and undervalued. Why? Because it’s underground — literally three to four kilometers beneath us — and because regulations and incentives were designed to support more recent technologies, like solar and wind,” Mr. Soriano said.
In order to inject more geothermal energy capacity into the power mix, Mr. Soriano said regulations must recognize the industry’s characteristics, such as large upfront capital intensity, baseload reliability, and long service life.
“When frameworks recognize all clean technologies have a role to play, capital will flow and unlock potential for a 24/7 clean and renewable energy future,” he said.
First Gen, one of the Philippines’ leading renewable energy firms, controls a portfolio of 1,300 MW of renewable energy capacity from geothermal, solar, and wind. It also has an interest in gas-fired power plants in Batangas with a combined capacity of 2,017 MW.
To unlock the region’s wealth of renewable energy, Singapore Minister of State Foreign Affairs and Trade & Industry Gan Siow Huang said the ASEAN Power Grid will play a key role in enhancing energy access.
“I’m heartened that this vision is not only shared within ASEAN, but is increasingly drawing in strong interest from governments, financial institutions and companies from beyond our region,” she said during her opening address.
The ASEAN Power Grid aims to connect the electricity networks of the member countries, enabling cross-border power trading by 2045.
“We are making progress on rail projects that will form the building blocks of the ASEAN power grid,” Ms. Huang said.
She highlighted Singapore’s grid interconnection with Malaysia, allowing bidirectional flows of electricity. Both countries will soon commence detailed feasibility studies for a second electricity connector with a potential capacity of up to 2,000 MW.
“Building connectivity is not only about physical interconnectors between countries. It’s also about leveling up our knowledge and skills collectively, and also investing in the human capital,” she said. “This is to ensure that our region’s energy transition is inclusive and people centric.”
