Asia moving away from Solar?

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Asia Pacific Renewable Energy Policy Handbook 2024’ is among the latest region-specific policy reports from GlobalData, the industry analysis specialist. The report covers 15 major countries in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region – Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The report offers comprehensive information on major policies governing the renewable energy market in these countries. The report discusses renewable energy targets and plans along with the present policy framework, giving a fair idea of the overall growth potential of the renewable energy industry. The report also provides major technology-specific policies and incentives provided by the countries in the region.

The report is built using data and information sourced from industry associations, government websites, and statutory bodies. The information is also sourced through other secondary research sources such as industry and trade magazines.

The global energy market has witnessed increased energy prices in recent years and several governments have been lagging their climate targets in the APAC region. The governments in the region are looking at ways to meet their climate goals through alternative strategies. Rooftop PV targets are key on government agendas to meet their renewable targets, which bypasses the challenge of acquiring large land spaces for utility-scale solar projects. In addition, another key trend witnessed in the region is the reignited interest towards nuclear power.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine led to increased energy prices in Japan, forcing the country to make changes to its nuclear policy after remaining reluctant to restart its nuclear power plants following the Fukushima disaster. The Japanese government felt the need to introduce a policy to ensure a stable energy supply while still focusing on its goal of achieving a decarbonised society.

In February 2023, the Japanese Government launched the New Basic Energy Plan until 2030, making significant changes to the country’s previous nuclear policy and revealing intentions to restart suspended nuclear power plants. Similarly, in South Korea, the government placed tremendous focus on nuclear power in its tenth basic plan 2024-2038 wherein the country aims to increase nuclear power share to 32.4% in its generation mix.

Even though China has reduced incentivised support for renewables, it has been able to boost its renewable capacity, especially through solar installations. In 2021, the National Energy Administration (NEA) of China announced that it would make the use of solar PV on residential and commercial rooftops mandatory. The mandate required that 20% of every residential rooftop, 30% of every commercial rooftop, 40% of every non-government public building, and 50% of every government building should be covered with solar PV modules by the end of 2023.

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India is also quick to adapt to the trend of growing rooftop solar installations. In January 2024, the Indian Government launched Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana (PMSY) scheme, which targets to provide rooftop solar (RTS) power systems to ten million households.

After disappointing renewable progress in India, the introduction of the PMSY scheme is expected to boost rooftop solar PV installations. The country can achieve similar success as China if the implementation is done in a robust manner. The PMSY scheme aims to help households that range from poor to middle-income groups to get 300 units of free monthly solar electricity. With the rise in electricity prices, this is expected to encourage the adoption of rooftop solar PV systems at a rapid pace.

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