Paths for Decarbonising the Transport Sector in ASEAN

The report finds that Indonesia has a strong regulatory foundation for energy efficiency, including provisions for PPPs and green finance. However, investment remains limited by weak project pipelines, financing gaps, perceived risks, limited ESCO capacity, and poor market coordination. It recommends translating existing policies into bankable, scalable industrial energy-efficiency projects.

The second publication in the Emerging Technologies Series examines the role of virtual power plants (VPPs) in supporting Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition. As distributed energy resources (DERs) continue to expand across the region, the policy brief outlines how VPPs can coordinate these assets to enhance system reliability, improve cost efficiency, and support accelerated renewable energy integration. The policy brief provides an overview of how VPPs work, their technological outlook and operating models, and current applications in different power systems, as well as the opportunities and risks associated with their deployment in Southeast Asia. It highlights key enabling conditions drawn from international experience, along with practical recommendations for scaling VPPs across the region.

The ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III Phase 3 Report on Implementation Strategy for Multilateral Power Trade in ASEANs erves as a strategic roadmap for operationalising regional electricity markets, detailing the necessary regulatory frameworks and governance structures to make cross-border power trade a reality. As the last part of the AIMS III Phase 3, the report highlights that a phased implementation strategy, focused on establishing market rules and strengthening regional institutional coordination, is the vital catalyst needed to accelerate multilateral power trade and maximise the economic benefits of a connected ASEAN Power Grid (APG). The report was prepared by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), with the support of the United Nations Office for Project Services programme for Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP-UNOPS), Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy (CASE) for Southeast Asia, and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), under the APG Advancement Program (APG-AP).

The ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III Phase 3 Report on Minimum Technical Standards for Interconnections provides a comprehensive regional framework for harmonising the minimum technical requirements for interconnections across the region to ensure seamless integration and operation of the ASEAN Power Grid (APG). In part 3 of the 4 AIMS III Phase 3 reports, it reveals that harmonising the minimum technical standards for interconnections through a phased approach, starting from voluntary subregional guidelines, is essential to maintain system stability, facilitate increased multilateral power trade, and ensure the reliable integration of renewable energy sources across borders. The report was prepared by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), with the support of the United Nations Office for Project Services programme for Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP-UNOPS), Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy (CASE) for Southeast Asia, and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), under the APG Advancement Program (APG-AP)

The ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III Phase 3 Report on ASEAN-wide Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning (IRRP) introduces a comprehensive framework designed to evolve traditional energy planning into a more adaptive and forward-looking regional strategy. The second part of the four AIMS III Phase 3 reports highlights the areas where ASEAN can enhance grid resilience, optimise cross-border investments, and achieve collective energy security in an increasingly complex energy landscape, by transitioning from isolated national efforts to a unified, probabilistic resiliency approach to regional planning. The report was prepared by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), with the support of the United Nations Office for Project Services programme for Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP-UNOPS), Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy (CASE) for Southeast Asia, and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), under the APG Advancement Program (APG-AP)