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Southeast Asia is touted to have an annual global
horizontal irradiance ranging from 1,200 kWh/m2 to
1,800 kWh/m2, making the region highly ideal for
developing solar power plants.
Key Types of Distributed Power Systems Installed in
Southeast Asia
The key types of distributed power facilities installed in
the region include biomass and waste-to-power, solar
photovoltaic, and diesel/HFO/gas temporary rental
power plants. Hybrid power plants and micro-grid
systems are reportedly also being developed.
Biomass and waste-to-power plants are ideal to supply
the captive power needs of small- and medium-scale
industries. This type of distributed power system enjoys
wide government support across Southeast Asia, and
benefits from abundant biomass resources, particularly
in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Solar PV facilities, on the other hand, are gaining
ground across the region, thanks to policy support and
incentives. Thailand is at the forefront of the solar PV
market in Southeast Asia, with an estimated capacity
additions of approximately one GW in 2015 alone.
Temporary power plants running on diesel or HFO still
dominate the rental power segment in Southeast Asia,
owing to significant cost-savings, rapid installation,
wide availability of fuel, and inherent flexibility of use.
Temporary power plants running on gas are also gaining
popularity in the region, in recognition of their cost and
environmental benefits.
By going for the rental power option, one avoids the
need for a significant upfront investment, and the long
lead times associated with the construction of
permanent power generation facilities.
Industry studies conducted across Southeast Asia
reveal that a permanent centralized power plant may
Photo credit: Flickr
take around five to ten years to become fully
operational due to the obstacles created by
environmental laws in the region and land acquisition
requirements, compounded by overall construction
delays. While waiting for the power plants to be
constructed and activated, power companies in
Southeast Asia, the likes of Meralco and the National
Power Corporation in the Philippines, or the
Perusahaan Listrik Negara in Indonesia and the Vietnam
Electricity Company, will find numerous benefits in
setting up temporary rental power plants to meet the
immediate power demands of their countries.
Temporary power plants are also scalable, in that its
output can be tailored to the existing electricity demand
of a community, a city or a province. They can also be
installed even in areas with limited power infrastructure,
say where substations are absent, because they can be
directly connected to the grid having been equipped
with the latest protection systems and advanced
transformation and switching equipment. When the
permanent power plants are completed, the rental
power plants can be easily and completely
demobilized, thus leaving no power facility not used or
that will require further maintenance and servicing.
The Growth of Distributed Power in Southeast Asia
As Southeast Asian economies continue to grow in the
coming years, the region’s demand for electricity will
proportionally increase. While the region’s governments
are implementing long-term programs to respond to
future power needs, power utilities in Southeast Asia,
including Tenaga Nasional in Malaysia or the Electricity
Generating Authority of Thailand, can take advantage of
the availability of distributed power generation systems,
like temporary power plants. Distributed power facilities
can help overcome topographical challenges in
delivering power, circumvent power transmission and
distribution limitations, and boost the electrification
rates of various countries in Southeast Asia.
Photo credit: Flickr