Bangkok (VNA) –  Several of the 10 membercountries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have adoptedclean-energy policies, and yet the use of coal continues to increase in theregion.

Theenergy multinational Wood Mackenzie said in a recent study that coal wouldremain a major fuel source in Southeast Asia for years to come, its useexpected to peak only in 2027.

TheIndonesian government has set a target of generating 23 percent of its powerfrom renewable sources but has achieved only 12 percent thus far due towidespread dependence on coal.

Jacqualine Tao, a research associate at Wood Mackenzie, saidthe reality of rising power demand and affordability issues in the region meansthat coal’s capacity plateau will only be seen after 2030.

The International EnergyAgency (IEA) has stated that global demand for coal grew by 0.7 percent for thetwo years ending in 2018. It has estimated that, in the next 20 years, coal demandwill continue to rise due to its affordability and availability.

Southeast Asian nations,India and other developing countries will be the centre of coal demand for thenext 25 years, obtaining three-fourths of their energy from it, the IEAbelieves.

By 2040, the powergenerated from coal will have risen from the current 35 percent to 40 percent,while the proportion generated from natural gas drops from 30 to 45 percent, ithas said.

Countries such as Vietnam,the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Pakistan will have to importcoal-generated power from other nations, while the European Union, Japan, theRepublic of Korea and China will need less.

However, Wood Mackenziebelieves wind and solar power will eventually predominate in Southeast Asia,integrated with coal use to generate 35 percent of power by 2040.

Investment in wind andsolar energy will increase by 23 percent between 2019 and 2050, for a combinedvalue of 89 billion USD./.