1,000 Islands: rural electrification through renewable energy

Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved a revised Electricity Law focusing on fair pricing, renewable energy oversight, and a phased roadmap to eliminate cross-subsidies.

The revised Electricity Law, approved by the National Assembly on November 30, introduces significant updates to Vietnam’s energy policy, including a phased approach to ending cross-subsidies in electricity pricing. The law will take effect on February 1, 2025.

The revised law encompasses six main areas: power planning and development; renewable and new energy sources; conditions for electricity operations, including licensing and revocation; electricity trading activities; system management and operation; and safety standards for electricity use and hydropower dams.

One of the law's notable provisions addresses the elimination of cross-subsidies in electricity pricing. The Standing Committee of the National Assembly emphasized the importance of reducing and eventually eliminating cross-subsidies between customer groups and regions to create a more equitable pricing structure.

*This excerpt is from a news item collated by SIPET as part of its mission to serve as a one-stop platform for information and knowledge exchange about the energy transition in Southeast Asia. For the full news item, click on the link next to 'Further Information' . 

**Photo credit: Vietnam National Assembly

BCPG Plc, the power generation arm of energy conglomerate Bangchak Corporation, is preparing to spend more than 32 billion baht next year to fund investments in Thailand and overseas, paving the way for greater use of clean energy.

The amount is 10 times more than the company's capital spending in 2023, which totalled 3.2 billion baht.

"We plan to allocate 18.7 billion baht of the 2025 budget for new investment projects," said Niwat Adirek, president and chief executive of BCPG.

Among the investments are solar and wind farms in Laos and Vietnam.

In Thailand, the company plans to invest in projects to sell electricity to the manufacturing sector.

BCPG announced earlier it was expanding in Southeast Asia, with the latest move to acquire shares worth 4.5 billion baht in two wind farms with combined electricity generation capacity of 99 megawatts in Vietnam.

The two wind power projects, both located in Gia Lai province in central Vietnam, represent the second asset the company has acquired after investing in a wind farm in Laos.

*This excerpt is from a news item collated by SIPET as part of its mission to serve as a one-stop platform for information and knowledge exchange about the energy transition in Southeast Asia. For the full news item, click on the link next to 'Further Information' . 

**Photo credit: Bangkok Post

Malaysia aims to translate green and renewable energy into a collective ASEAN commitment as it assumes the ASEAN Chair on Jan 1, 2025, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation.

He said Malaysia aspires to elevate its influence within ASEAN and globally, aligning its efforts with international frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the ASEAN agenda for 2025.

“We aim to translate green and renewable energy into a collective ASEAN commitment to ensure environmental sustainability,” he told reporters at the I-Nation Global Summit 2024 today.

Additionally, Fadillah said, a central focus during the chairmanship is the development and enhancement of the ASEAN Power Grid, a regional initiative aimed at integrating electricity networks among member countries.

*This excerpt is from a news item collated by SIPET as part of its mission to serve as a one-stop platform for information and knowledge exchange about the energy transition in Southeast Asia. For the full news item, click on the link next to 'Further Information' . 

**Photo credit: Bernamapic

Thailand's first robotic solar installer is expected to increase domestic demand for rooftop solar panels and promises a significant increase in revenue for developer Solar D Corporation, a solar power solution provider and the distributor of the Tesla Powerwall energy storage system.

The new solar panel installation robot, reportedly the first of its kind in the country, will help drive revenue in 2025, with estimated year-on-year growth of 33% to 2 billion baht, said Sumrit Sitthiwaranuwong, chief executive of Solar D.

The robot uses "LightSpeed" technology developed by the company's R&D team, setting up rooftop solar panels 10 times faster than manual work, he said.

Usually solar panels with power generation capacity of 1 megawatt require 60 days for manual installation, but with the LightSpeed technology, the work is finished in only six days.

*This excerpt is from a news item collated by the SIPET team as part of its mission to serve as a one-stop platform for information and knowledge exchange about the energy transition in Southeast Asia. For the full news item, click on the link next to 'Further Information' . 

**Photo credit: Bangkok Post.