ASEAN has entered a decisive phase in its clean-energy transition. At the Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, member states agreed to raise renewables to 45% by 2030, an acknowledgment that South-East Asia’s energy future depends as much on cooperation as on national policy.
Regional readiness has improved, but the path to 2030 remains uneven. Many governments have set ambitious renewable targets, but grid bottlenecks, policy fragmentation and financing constraints continue to slow progress.
These challenges were captured in Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore’s (SEAS) The State of the Energy Transition in Asean 2025 survey, involving over 100 energy professionals across Asean. Over 70% cited grid infrastructure gaps, two-thirds identified regulatory uncertainty and more than half pointed to financing as major barriers. Their collective view is clear: progress will depend on Asean’s ability to work as one.
Diverse but shared journey
This year’s survey reveals how Asean’s leadership landscape is evolving. Singapore remains the regional anchor, but its perceived leadership has declined from 95% in 2024 to 51.4% in 2025, as neighbouring economies mature.
Malaysia now ranks second at 14.3%, followed by Vietnam (13.3%), Indonesia (6.7%) and the Philippines (6.7%). This data reflects a more distributed form of progress, where multiple markets now drive innovation, policy reform and investment.
Malaysia demonstrates how policy clarity and institutional maturity can attract capital. Clear renewable targets and mechanisms like the Corporate Green Power Programme are helping expand solar deployment, while the country’s industrial capacity positions it as a manufacturing and service hub for Asean’s clean-energy supply chain. As Asean chair, Malaysia has the opportunity to harmonise regional regulations and accelerate shared infrastructure projects.
Indonesia’s vast renewable potential with geothermal, biomass and solar places it at the heart of Asean’s energy diversity. The challenge lies in translating potential into projects. Efforts such as the Indonesia Green Corridor and the Riau–Singapore solar partnership show how cross-border cooperation can unlock investment and strengthen resilience.
As Asean’s largest energy producer and exporter, Indonesia’s ability to balance domestic energy security with decarbonisation will be critical to its overall progress.
The Philippines faces a more fragmented geography, but its energy transition offers valuable lessons in inclusivity. With over 7,000 islands, decentralised systems are essential. The country is pioneering microgrids and community-scale solar, supported by its established geothermal industry, which provides dependable baseload power. These innovations show how clean energy can reach remote and climate-vulnerable communities while strengthening local economies.
Meanwhile, Vietnam, one of the fastest-growing industrial economies in Asean, is rapidly scaling offshore wind and solar. The government’s Power Development Plan VIII envisions between 31% to 39% of capacity from renewables by 2030 (up to 47% if international financing is realised), while reforms to electricity tariffs and private-sector participation are building confidence among investors. Vietnam’s manufacturing base also supports regional supply chains, reinforcing Asean’s goal of energy self-sufficiency.
While these countries illustrate how diversity can be Asean’s strength, Singapore’s continuing role as a financial and policy hub also supports the region’s transition. Survey respondents still see its role as pivotal, citing its policy stability, carbon-market framework and green-finance ecosystem as critical enablers for the region’s long-term transition.
Through collaboration Singapore can help align capital, technology and standards that underpin Asean’s shared progress.
Kavita Gandhi is the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) executive director.
Integration and sovereignty
Amid geopolitical uncertainty, Asean’s collective response is increasingly framed around energy sovereignty and the ability to secure and manage its own resources, infrastructure and markets.
The idea of Asean as a sovereign energy bloc has gained traction over the past year, reflecting the need for shared control over resources, markets and technology to enhance collective security.
The Asean Power Grid (APG) exemplifies this ambition. Once aspirational, it is now taking shape through projects such as the Laos–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project (200 MW) and the Riau–Singapore solar corridor. These are early but significant steps toward a connected regional electricity market.
At the Asean summit, leaders endorsed a financing facility of up to US$10bil from the Asian Development Bank and World Bank to accelerate cross-border power trade and grid enhancement. The goal is not simply to move electrons between countries but to establish the foundation of a shared regional energy system. When countries buy, sell and store power collectively, they create stability that no single grid could achieve alone.
Energy storage and smart-grid technologies are also central to this shift. Over 65% of survey respondents identified storage as their top investment priority for the next 12 months, followed by 42% prioritising transmission upgrades. These technologies turn intermittent renewables into reliable assets, ensuring that power can be traded and balanced across borders.
Diversification for security
Sovereignty also relies on diversification. Drawing energy from multiple sources and technologies means being less exposed to disruption. Asean’s renewable mix remains dominated by solar and wind, but bioenergy, efficiency and decentralised systems are emerging as key resilience tools.
At SEAS’s flagship conference – the Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) held in Singapore last October – new discussions on bioenergy, demand-side management and decentralised renewable systems underlined this shift.
Bioenergy projects are gaining attention for their ability to reuse agricultural and industrial waste, while energy efficiency measures and distributed solar relieve strain on national grids. In Indonesia and the Philippines, these initiatives improve reliability in rural and industrial areas; in Vietnam and Malaysia, they complement national power plans and climate goals.
Such diversification broadens energy access and strengthens local economies while providing insulation from external geopolitical shocks. It also responds to the growing call among Asean stakeholders for flexibility and resilience rather than dependence on a narrow set of technologies or suppliers.
Building enabling frameworks
Beyond grids and financing, the next stage of Asean’s transition relies on enabling frameworks that align governments, industry and communities. Policy coordination and regulatory clarity remain priorities. Our survey finds that 83.8% of respondents cited investment in clean infrastructure and 62.9% highlighted clearer policy frameworks as essential to unlocking capital.
Integration and diversification require enabling institutions and collaboration. In our work organising ACES, facilitating technical missions, policy dialogues and partnerships that strengthen regional capability, we’ve seen how these exchanges allow governments, investors and developers to coordinate policy frameworks, technical standards and financing models that make regional projects possible. It also supports the knowledge exchange and capacity-building essential to sustaining this momentum.
Tracking progress and Malaysia’s moment to lead
To maintain momentum, Asean must measure progress through clear milestones: renewable electricity reaching the new 45% regional target by 2030, energy intensity reduced by 32% to 40% from 2005 levels, operational cross-border trades under the Power Grid, expansion of circular-economy and bioenergy projects and community-led just-transition programmes.
As 2025 Asean chair, Malaysia can still work to translate these ambitions into coordinated action by anchoring regulatory harmonisation, facilitating regional investment and strengthening public-private collaboration.
The next phase of Asean’s clean-energy journey will test its collective resolve. If the region can balance growth, security and sustainability while deepening integration and diversification, it will not only meet its renewable targets but define a new model of shared energy sovereignty.
