Coal-fired power plants are the main source of electricity in the region: in 2023, they accounted for 44% of generation, another 30% was provided by gas (29%) and oil-fired power plants (1%), and the remaining 26% came from renewables. The dominance of coal generation is largely due to the high availability of this fossil fuel: for example, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam accounted for 9% of global coal production last year (853 million tons of 9,096 million tons, according to the Energy Institute). For the same reason, ASEAN countries continue to build new coal-fired power plants: according to Global Energy Monitor, from 2020 to 2023, the region added 14.6 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power capacity.
The high role of gas generation is also associated with the availability of fossil fuels. The main regional producers of natural gas are Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam. According to the Energy Institute, in 2023 these countries accounted for a third of gas production in the countries of South and East Asia (224.5 billion out of 691.8 billion cubic meters). ASEAN’s share of regional and global gas production will grow in the coming years with new projects in Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia and Myanmar. In these countries, 19 gas production projects with total recoverable reserves of more than 540 billion cubic meters are at the pre-investment stage. These include fields such as Rosemary-Marjoram with reserves of 64.9 billion cubic meters (Malaysia), Greater Shwe with reserves of 18.7 billion cubic meters (Myanmar) and Tuna with reserves of 17 billion cubic meters (Indonesia).
The most common source of low-carbon energy in ASEAN is hydropower, with the region’s installed hydropower capacity increasing by 4.8 GW between 2020 and 2023 (to 56.7 GW). Thanks to this, electricity generation at hydroelectric power stations in 2021 and 2022 increased by a total of 40 TWh, which is comparable to the annual electricity consumption in Bulgaria. In 2023, due to dry weather, electricity generation at regional hydroelectric power stations decreased by almost 21 TWh, but still exceeded the 2020 level.
Wind and solar power plants are another segment of renewable energy sources in the region. Their installed capacity in ASEAN countries increased by 8.2 GW from 2020 to 2023 (to 34 GW). However, the share of wind and solar generation remains insignificant (4.5% in 2023).
