Asean power grid will raise use of renewables: International Renewable Energy Agency

[Singapore] A top official of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has called on Asean to work towards a regionally interconnected grid so that its member states can adopt renewable energy on a larger scale.

Speaking to The Business Times, Adnan Z Amin, the director-general of the nine-year-old inter-governmental body, said: "In the long run, we really believe that a well-regulated market that includes a number of countries can have a massive impact on the large-scale adoption of renewables - especially because a number of Asean countries (such as Myanmar and Laos) have hydropower capability."

Such interconnections within the region will help to balance the power grid, even in the absence of grid-scale storage, he added.