Investments in renewable energy will be able to help lift a large chunk of Asia Pacific’s population out of energy poverty, said energy experts on Wednesday.
One fifth of Apac’s population – some 800 million – still lack reliable access to energy.
“While everyone is talking about large-scale renewable energy projects, we should not forget that some people don’t have basic access to electricity,” said Jiwan Acharya, Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) climate change specialist.
He was speaking at the Clean Energy Expo Asia, held in Singapore this week, which brings policymakers and energy experts together to discuss key issues in the areas of sustainable energy in the Asia-Pacific region.
This year, the UN Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change has called for universal access to energy by 2030. To achieve this task, funds of about US$41 billion from 2010 to 2015 are needed – the amount is only 0.06 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
“The total amount of money to make this happen is not huge,” said Mr Archarya. “But there are competing demands for energy resources.”
“We need to look for ways to get those resources and use them more effectively so that we can provide electricity for these people,” he added.
According to a recent report published by International Energy Agency (IEA), around 1.5 billion people in the world lack access to electricity, and more than half come from the Asia-Pacific region.
In the Pacific islands, 30 per cent of the population on average have access to energy sources, but the quality of power and reliability of service vary widely.
“These are the countries where some places deliver electricity only for three hours in the morning, three hours in the evening, the rest of the day nothing and the rest of the night [they are] in complete darkness,” explained Eva Oberender, Southeast-Asia and Pacific regional director for the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP).
Although the Pacific islands, aside from Papau New Guinea, have no domestic fossil fuels to rely on, they are rich in renewable energy sources, such as solar, hydro, geothermal, wind and biomass.
“However, they are under utilised at around 10 per cent of the energy mix on average currently”, said Ms Oberender, who facilitates investments in clean energy projects.
At the recent Pacific Energy Ministers Meeting, government officials identified renewable energy sources as having a key role in the development of their economy. They are looking for more investors to be involved in the projects, added Ms Oberender.
Ms Oberender believed that international co-operation is paramount to ensure the success of energy projects in some key markets.
She shared an example of Tongo, one of the Pacific islands countries which managed to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels under the leadership of the Tongo government. This was with the help of development partners in renewable energy projects, she noted.
“If we all run around in isolation, and even if we’ve tried our best, we can never achieve the impact we’re hoping for,” she said.
Eco-Business.com’s coverage of the Clean Energy Expo Asia 2010 is brought to you by Conchubar Capital Management.
