In recent years, with the continuous expansion of the global photovoltaic market, the photovoltaic industry in Southeast Asia has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities. According to statistics from the US think tank Global Energy Monitor, by the end of 2023, the total installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation in Southeast Asian countries will reach 18.7 GW. According to the analysis of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by 2024, the five countries with the largest photovoltaic installed capacity in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore) will have an additional installed capacity of more than 6 GW, almost three times that of 2023, showing huge market potential.

Photovoltaic installed capacity continues to expand

Southeast Asia has excellent natural conditions for the development of the photovoltaic industry. Most countries in the region are in tropical areas, with long sunshine hours throughout the year and abundant solar energy resources. In recent years, the installed capacity and market size of photovoltaic power generation in many countries in the region have continued to expand.

Vietnam is the country with the largest increase in photovoltaic installed capacity in Southeast Asia in the past 10 years, and it is also the largest photovoltaic market in the region. According to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency, Vietnam's photovoltaic installed capacity has increased significantly from 5 MW in 2014 to 17,000 MW in 2023; power generation has also increased from 5GWh to about 27,700GWh.

The integrated floating photovoltaic project of the Sirindhorn Dam in Ubon Ratchathani Province in northeastern Thailand was jointly built by China and Thailand. Since it was put into operation in 2021, it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 47,000 tons per year. Data from the International Renewable Energy Agency shows that Thailand's photovoltaic installed capacity has increased from 1,299 MW in 2014 to 3,181 MW in 2023; power generation has also increased from 1,925 GWh 10 years ago to nearly 5,000 GWh.

In September 2024, Malaysia's largest floating + ground photovoltaic fusion project was officially put into operation, with a total installed capacity of 100 MW, consisting of a 35 MW floating photovoltaic power station and a 65 MW ground power station. It is expected that annual power generation can offset more than 200,000 tons of carbon emissions. The installed capacity of Malaysia's photovoltaic industry has increased from 205 MW in 2014 to 1,933 MW in 2023, and the power generation has increased to 460 GWh.

According to the Indonesian Institute for Basic Services Reform's "Indonesia Solar Outlook 2025" report released in October last year, as of August 2024, the country's photovoltaic installed capacity reached 717.71 MW, and a total of 16.92 GW of projects are in preparation. It is expected that by 2050, the photovoltaic installed capacity will increase by 350 GW to 550 GW. Hashim, Indonesia's special envoy for climate change and energy, said that Indonesia will promote 100 GW of energy projects in the next 15 years, of which 75 GW are renewable energy projects, including solar, hydropower, geothermal energy and nuclear energy.

According to the "Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2024" released by the International Energy Agency in October last year, as the cost of photovoltaic modules decreases, the added value of photovoltaic production capacity in Southeast Asia will increase significantly. According to the established policy scenario, it is expected to increase from about 2 GW per year in 2023 to 15 GW per year in 2035. Jonathan, head of external relations at the Energy Market Authority of Singapore, said that ASEAN has great potential in renewable energy and can become a new center for renewable energy deployment, innovation and investment.

Government actively supports industrial development

ASEAN has set a goal to increase the proportion of renewable energy in primary energy consumption to 23% by 2025, and plans to further increase investment in renewable energy in the future. To achieve this goal, ASEAN countries have introduced a series of policy measures to encourage the development of the photovoltaic industry.

In June 2024, the Thai Ministry of Energy formulated a new version of the Power Development Plan. The plan aims to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the energy structure from 20% in 2023 to 51% in 2037. At present, Thailand has zero tariffs on imported photovoltaic modules, and eligible photovoltaic power generation systems can enjoy renewable energy power generation subsidies. The Thai government also plans to launch a new tax reduction plan for households that install rooftop solar panels, which is expected to provide tax incentives for about 90,000 households by 2025.

In July 2024, Vietnam Electricity Group announced that it would purchase surplus electricity generated by solar panels on the roofs of homes and office buildings at a price of VND671 per kilowatt-hour (US$1 is approximately VND25,520) to supplement its electricity supply. The move is intended to encourage more buildings to install solar panels and help the Vietnamese government achieve its goal of using rooftop solar energy in 50% of office buildings and homes by 2030. In September 2023, the Vietnamese government approved the National Energy Master Plan 2021-2030 and the Vision 2050, proposing that renewable energy will account for 15% to 20% of the country's energy structure by 2030 and 80% to 85% by 2050.

In January this year, the latest adjustment of Malaysia's solar self-use plan officially came into effect, further accelerating energy transformation. Previously, the plan only allowed users to install solar panels on the roofs of buildings, with a capacity limit of 85% of the building's maximum power demand. Last December, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Malaysia announced adjustments to the plan to remove the capacity limit for solar panels and allow the installation of ground and floating solar systems on private land. The new regulations also apply to the agricultural sector. In April last year, Malaysia launched the People's Solar Incentive Program, which provides cash subsidies of up to 4,000 ringgit (about 4.4 ringgit per US dollar) to households that install solar photovoltaic panels. The country also extended the income tax exemption for solar leasing companies until December 2026 to achieve the goal of renewable energy accounting for 70% of the national energy structure and solar energy accounting for 58% by 2050.

Analysts believe that overall, the development of the photovoltaic industry in Southeast Asia has benefited from economic growth, policy promotion and international financial support. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are the five largest photovoltaic demand countries in Southeast Asia. By introducing a series of preferential policies, it is expected to promote Southeast Asia to become one of the key photovoltaic markets. It is expected that the photovoltaic market in Southeast Asia will maintain steady growth in the next few years and become an important part of the global energy transformation.

Chinese companies help regional energy transformation

In the west of Bangkok, Thailand, there is a long-established comprehensive university-Mahidol University. Looking down from the air, the roofs of campus buildings are covered with rows of photovoltaic panels, equipped with 15MW photovoltaic + 600kWh energy storage + fully equipped optimizer intelligent photovoltaic energy storage system, which is currently the largest single industrial and commercial photovoltaic energy storage project in the Asia-Pacific region. This is the solution provided by Huawei for Mahidol University, which is expected to save $2.7 million in electricity bills and reduce carbon emissions by about 11,000 tons each year.

Yu Junxiang, the relevant person in charge of the Digital Energy Department of Huawei Thailand, told our reporter that since Huawei Thailand started its digital energy business, it has provided services to more than 1,000 companies in Thailand, installed a total of 6GW solar inverters, generated more than 6 billion kWh of electricity, and reduced more than 5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

In recent years, a number of Chinese photovoltaic companies have entered the Southeast Asian market and contributed to the local green and low-carbon development and energy transformation. In Indonesia, the floating photovoltaic project undertaken by China Power Construction Group East China Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. will achieve full capacity grid-connected power generation in November 2023, and the power generation of the project accounts for 25% of Indonesia's new energy power generation; in Singapore, the floating solar power plant built by China Energy Construction Group Shanxi Electric Power Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. can meet the electricity needs of 16,000 four-bedroom HDBs, reducing local carbon emissions by about 32,000 tons per year. . .

The integrated floating photovoltaic project of the Sirindhorn Dam in Thailand was undertaken by China Energy Construction Shanxi Institute. All components were supplied by China JA Solar Technology Co., Ltd., and the main suppliers of photovoltaic equipment were all from China. The relevant person in charge of JA Solar Technology told our reporter that Thailand has provided good support for foreign photovoltaic companies in terms of industrial environment and policy support. Atit Puhunkuna, head of the Sirindhorn Hydropower Station Department, said that the Thai-China photovoltaic cooperation project will help Thailand reduce its dependence on highly polluting thermal power generation while reducing a large amount of carbon emissions, and better achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.

Last December, the 1,000 MW photovoltaic project of the CNNC Laos Northern Interconnected Clean Energy Base (Phase I), the largest single-capacity clean energy project in Laos, started construction in Oudomxay Province in northern Laos. After the project is completed and put into operation, it is expected to generate about 1.7 billion kWh of electricity annually, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.4 million tons, sulfur dioxide by 270 tons, nitrogen oxides by 302 tons, and smoke by 54 tons, save 2.04 million cubic meters of fresh water, greatly improve local power production capacity, and optimize local energy structure. Chansawin Benyong, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Laos, said that the Laos Northern Interconnected Clean Energy Base Project is an important supporting power source for the Laos-China Power Interconnection 500 kV line, and is also an important cooperation project between China and Laos under the framework of the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" Initiative. It will help promote regional power interconnection, promote local economic development, improve energy efficiency, cultivate clean energy talents, and reduce carbon emissions.