Bright future for Asia's energy demand

Renewable energy use is expected to rise from 10% in 2008 to 15% in 2035, and Asia is expected to play a major role in achieving these targets, according to the International Energy Outlook report. “Asia’s energy demand is expected to double over the next 20 years, and renewable energy sources will play a bigger role in the overall energy mix of many Asian countries,” said Mr. Chee Hong
Tat, Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority.

Singapore has demonstrated a strong commitment to the renewable energy sector. The Singapore Economic Development Board reported that by 2015, the clean energy industry is expected
to contribute US$1.3 billion to Singapore’s gross domestic product and create 7,000 jobs across a broad range of areas, including solar power, fuel cells, wind power, energy efficiency and carbon services.

Back in 2007, the Singapore government announced a total package of US$271 million for the clean energy industry, designed to intensify innovative research and development,and capability development for this industry. A transformational player in Asia’s clean energy space is China, which recently became the world’s top energy producer, and is expected to use 68% more energy than the U.S. by 2035. While renewable energy is projected to be the fastest growing source of primary energy over the next 25 years, fossil fuels are expected to maintain their grip as the dominant source of energy.
China will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 17% by 2015, per unit GDP. Under its 12th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, China will generate 11.4% of energy from non-fossil fuels by 2015, and 15% by 2020, up from 8.3% in 2010. To reach this ambitious goal, China has introduced a range of regulatory and financial incentives, including feed-in tariffs, subsidies,
China Development Bank loans, and US$200 billion in stimulus funding for cleantech, carbon emission reductions and energy pricing reserves. China is poised to spend US$473.1 billion on clean energy
investments in the next five years and will add 370 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2020.

Masdar Capital, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted renewable energy company, is involved in the Chinese clean tech market and has already invested US$15 million into UPCC, a major Chinese wind developer. In addition, 50% of the panels in Masdar City’s 10MW solar plant are provided by Chinese manufacturer Suntech. Another significant player in Asia is Japan, which has recently passed a bill to promote investment in solar and other renewable energy sources and is already discussing easing rules on building geothermal, wind and hydraulic power plants to renewable energy use, as reported by the Nikkei Business Daily. Japan has the potential to generate nearly 40% of its electricity requirements from solar, wind and geothermal energy, according to estimates prepared for the government’s Energy and Environment Council.

Masdar has forged strong partnerships with Japan, another major player in the renewable energy market. Masdar Institute partnered with Japan’s Cosmo Oil Company and the Tokyo Institute of Technology on the Beam Down Project – a joint pilot project in Masdar City to test the conventional Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) design.