Market potential in energy efficiency in Southeast Asia

2011

This study, conducted by the Sustainability Committee of the European Chamber of Commerce, Singapore in collaboration with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, examines the market potential and business environment in the energy efficiency (EE) product and service industry in Southeast Asia. To narrow the focus of the study, five major countries were covered, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Together, these five countries accounted for 86% of ASEAN’s total GDP in 20101 and thus serve as a good representative subset of the region as a whole. The main part of the study is based on interviews with a wide range of players and stakeholders in the EE eco-system including companies with high energy consumption, EE product and technology suppliers, energy service companies (ESCOs), government agencies and research institutes.

In light of the growing energy demand in Southeast Asia, energy efficiency programs would offer large energy saving potentials for the region and opens vast new business opportunities. Our analysis indicates that by 2020, Southeast Asia could achieve efficiency gains of between 12% and 30%, a projection that would translate into power savings ranging between 119 TWh and 297 TWh, or USD 15 billion and USD 43 billion. Nonetheless, the actual energy savings will ultimately depend on the commitment of both industry and governments.

Albeit increasing government effort and industry initiatives to improve energy efficiency in the region, there are still some major barriers to be addressed at multiple levels of the value chain to stimulate the diffusion of EE technologies.