Energy Security

Solar panels with cityscape of singapore — Photo credit: Freepik.com

With more countries making the transition to green energy, Southeast Asia is emerging as a key player in the green supply chain. The energy demand in the region has been increasing, with electricity being the fastest growing. Critical minerals have emerged as a key resource, in which Southeast Asia could fuel the green energy transition through its critical mineral deposits. These minerals are essential components needed for green technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines. There have been regional efforts to coordinate energy security in Southeast Asia. Within ASEAN, there has been integration of Southeast Asia’s power systems through the ASEAN Power Grid. The ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2016 – 2025 has also set a renewable energy target of 23 percent by 2025. Additionally, it is important that critical minerals required for clean technology are responsibly sourced, and to advance environmentally sustainable norms in green energy technologies.

In the global transition to clean energy, the complementary roles of both nuclear power and renewable energy can no longer be ignored. In fact, the latest global energy forecast indicates that nuclear power and renewables “dominate” electricity demand growth from 2022 to 2025, together meeting more than 90 per cent of additional global power demand for the next three years.

Strengthening energy security, in the context of global clean energy transition, requires significant financial and technological investments in zero-carbon energy sources. However, transitioning away from dirty fossil fuels and guaranteeing stable and affordable electricity supply around the clock would be difficult to achieve if the world relies solely on fluctuating renewables.

In this regard, key areas of energy security that the centre focuses on includes:

Sustainable green transition;
Nuclear science in climate adaptation;
Nuclear governance issues related to nuclear energy and the clean energy transition; and
Regional role of ASEAN in regulating nuclear energy and energy transition