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The Future of Electricity in the Middle East and North Africa
Electricity demand in the MENA region This study analyses electricity demand in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and its evolution to 2035. MENA has long been a cornerstone of global energy supply. But the region is fast becoming a central character in the story of global energy demand, particularly that of electricity use. Rapid population growth, urbanisation, and rising temperatures are driving up electricity demand. Since 2000, MENA has become one of the top contributors to global electricity demand growth. The region’s climate, characterised by extreme heat and water scarcity, implies that reliable and resilient electricity…
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Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2026
…International Energy Agency (IEA). This reflects the dynamism of the region, as well as the importance of the IEA’s partnership with the eleven countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste (joined ASEAN in 2025) and Viet Nam.As energy security concerns move ever higher on the policy agenda, this year’s report explores the trajectory that the region was on prior to the conflict in the Middle East, and discusses the potential implications of the energy…
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Integrating Solar and Wind in Southeast Asia
…exposes countries to volatile fuel prices, potential supply disruptions and rising emissions. At the same time, the region possesses vast and diverse renewable resource potential. Variable renewable energy (VRE) - solar and wind - are now among the most cost-competitive generation options and are playing an increasingly important role in the region’s power sector. VRE presents an opportunity for the region to meet rising demand, support energy security, affordability and climate goals. However, integrating higher shares of VRE can present technical and regulatory challenges that require changes to system operation and planning. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the…
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Financing the Modernisation of Power Systems Beyond Coal
…s role in system adequacy, reliability and energy security, complicates efforts to accelerate coal transitions. Recent volatility in international gas markets has reinforced the short‑term economic and security value of existing coal assets, adding complexity to national transition strategies. The region’s young coal fleet also implies substantial long‑term emissions if plants continue operating at current utilisation rates.Against this backdrop, new approaches are being explored to support coal transitions while maintaining secure and reliable power systems. This report examines the potential role of transition credits as a market‑based instrument to support coal transitions in Southeast Asia. It analyses the scale…
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Financing the ASEAN Power Grid
…is central to achieving a sustainable, secure and affordable energy transition across the region. Delivering the APG will require a significant step‑change in investment over the coming 15 years, and unlocking financing from a diverse range of sources will be essential for this to happen. Yet financing approaches and business models have not evolved at the pace required to support an increasingly ambitious and complex pipeline of interconnector projects.This report examines how interconnectors are approached today from the financing and business model perspective. It explores how, in combination with broad macro‑financial and market‑specific factors, current approaches may create challenges…
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Accelerating Renewables Growth in ASEAN
…and recent national energy plans outline substantially higher ambitions for renewable capacity. Achieving these goals will require timely, sustained and strongly co-ordinated policy action to unlock the scale of renewable energy deployment needed by 2030 and beyond.This report examines the key challenges hindering a faster capacity deployment of renewable power in ASEAN and outlines potential policy solutions informed by successful international experience. It also provides an assessment of renewable-energy auction design options, an increasingly important procurement mechanism that is expected to account for around 60% of global capacity growth by 2030 and is already utilised in several…
