Research Database

Energy demand in transportation sector is increasing and the transportation sector currently emits high amount of greenhouse gases. Electric vehicles (EVs) were introduced to mitigate these emission of greenhouse gases. EVs are well-deployed at leading countries such as China, Europe, and United States due to EV-friendly policies and well-planned EV charging infrastructure. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is following these leading countries and aims to become the next EV hub. Effective deployment of EVs not only require involvement from governments but also willing consumers that push EVs into communities. A survey was carried out among policy makers, manufacturers, and academia to determine suitable policies and financial incentives to increase deployment of EV in the market. The survey also included the hurdles and issues faced by the community to adopt EVs, and identifies that high purchase cost and charging issues are hampering the deployment of EV in ASEAN. EV-friendly policies and financial incentives were suggested in the survey and will be a good reference material for EV manufacturers and policy makers in ASEAN.

Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world has pledged to “leaving no one behind”. Responding to goal No. 7 on the agenda, efforts to provide modern energy to all the world population must be pushed forward. This is important because electrification in the rural area can indirectly support opportunities for social and economic development […]

Vietnam’s economy is one of the most energy-intensive economies in the world, facilitated by long-standing government policies indirectly subsidizing energy prices through various state-owned enterprises in the energy sector. A consequence of this is that firms are using too much energy in production. This raises a crucial issue as to whether Vietnam can continue its development trajectory in the new era with rising energy prices and increased awareness of the use of fossil fuels and environmental pollution. In this context, understanding energy use patterns and firms’ behaviors regarding cheap energy prices is critical to forming appropriate energy policies and management practices. Using large-scale firm-level data, we have found explicit evidence of firms’ substitution of energy for capital inputs. This effect is present in both the short term and long term and in many energy-intensive industries. These results indicate that there is substantial benefit in appropriate pricing of primary energy and electricity, while also providing credit incentives for capital investment in more energy-efficient equipment. Reducing the rate of growth of energy demand, averaging approximately 10% annually, will have significant macroeconomic impacts. A quicker transition to less energy-intensive economic growth will also help to protect both the environment and public health.

The member countries of Southeast Asia have renewable energy sources that never run out like solar energy, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, etc. Geographically, Southeast Asian countries are between two continents that have tropical and humid climate conditions in general, while only Myanmar has a subtropical climate because it is astronomically. This provides easier access to many renewable energy sources. The governments of ASEAN member countries have made several policies and promoted renewable energy to encourage individuals and industries to use renewable energy in the future. This study provides information on the status of renewable energy as a comprehensive substitute for fossils in Southeast Asian countries, which includes the potential for renewable energy in the region and the capacity of renewable energy currently available. The study also provides brief information on the potential of renewable energy, renewable energy targets, and challenges to energy demand in Southeast Asia. In addition, this paper provides several recommendations for renewable energy in Southeast Asian countries.

This work discusses the development of hydropower in four Southeast Asia countries. With rapid economic development and insufficient energy supply, hydropower, as an important clean energy, plays a bigger role than before. It is shown that hydropower has immense potential and is the best choice to cater for the energy demand in Southeast Asia. In this work, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar are selected to analyze their hydropower development. This work introduces the status of hydropower resources, the current situation of hydropower development and the main distribution of hydropower stations in the four countries. In addition, the paper also introduces some energy policies, the development advantages and obstacles of the four countries, and puts forward suggestions for the future hydropower development of these four countries.