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As 2021 begins, IHS Markit looks at the renewable markets and
highlights the most pertinent issues for the sector in the Asia
Pacific region. These markets are estimated to add more than 120 GW
of solar and wind capacity in 2021.
Below are questions that reflect the key issues/signposts that
will need to be watched closely this year.
The three major Northeast Asian markets, mainland China, Japan,
and South Korea, had over the course of the second half of 2020
announced net-zero carbon targets. Renewables will have to play a
part in meeting the net-zero target set by the markets.
In Southeast Asia, several countries have power development
plans that are scheduled to be released in 2021, after being
delayed owing to COVID-19. Vietnam's 8th Power Development Plan is
expected to pivot away from the large reliance on coal and shift
toward gas-fired generation and renewables. Along the same vein,
the Philippines is slated to update the country's power development
plan in 2021, which will incorporate the latest draft National
Renewable Energy Program (NREP) 2020-2040, targeting 30 GW of
installed renewable capacity by 2040.
In South Asia, while India already has an aggressive renewable
target of 450 GW to be achieved by 2030, markets including Pakistan
and Sri Lanka are updating their renewable targets as part of their
integrated planning. The draft targets announced include increasing
renewable share to 30% and 70% in Pakistan and Sri Lanka,
respectively, and are expected to get finalized in 2021.
2) What will the renewable tender landscape look
like?
The tender prices for renewables have been very competitively
priced, even in markets where the renewable sector is still in its
infancy like Myanmar, which held its inaugural tender in 2020. In
addition, countries are transitioning away from pricing support
schemes to tenders or introducing new forms of renewable
tenders.
India's federal renewable energy agency also began to tender for
firm renewable supply, focusing on increasing the supply-side
reliability of renewable power. These tenders had various hybrid
arrangements of renewables with energy storage technologies
including pumped hydro and batteries. The firm renewable tenders
attracted many bids from renewable developers. Additionally,
tenders are on offer in India for around-the-clock supply of
renewable power through hybridization with coal power.
Consequently, IHS Markit expects to see an increasing amount of
hybrid capacity tenders in 2021, and there will be more competition
between various hybrid arrangements.
Vietnam is scheduled to have its first solar tender in 2021.
Specifically, 1 GW of capacity is expected to be up for award;
however, this number may be increased following two successive
years of strong growth in solar capacity, supported by a feed-in
tariff (FIT). In 2019 and 2020, Vietnam surpassed expectations,
increasing its installed capacity by about 5 GW in 2019 and more
than 11 GW in 2020.
The Department of Energy in the Philippines will also be
introducing its first renewable tender in 2021, targeting to award
2 GW of capacity. This tender is being introduced to aggregate the
renewable energy needs of renewable portfolio-mandated companies,
especially the smaller ones, to procure the required renewable
energy, since not all mandated companies have the means to do
procurement themselves. This aggregation may also help achieve more
competitive pricing compared with small capacity tenders.
3) Where will the renewable procurement opportunities
be?
Many large power consumers in the region are committing to
increase the usage of renewable energy and for some to offset 100%
of their power demand with renewables. This commitment is in part
due to increasing pressure from their global customers who are
members of RE100, and the companies own sustainability commitments.
As a result, these large power consumers are increasingly lobbying
governments to allow various renewable procurement options. This
request comes alongside governments phasing out renewable pricing
support schemes in favor of renewable obligation and letting the
market run its course.
(REC) trading was launched in mainland China in early 2017.
However, the trading activities and volumes traded have been quite
limited owing to the lack of demand. In 2021, a renewable portfolio
standard will be set on power consumers, and this measure should
increase the trading volumes in the REC market and support
additional renewable developments. A similar introduction
In January 2021, South Korea passed a bill allowing various
renewable procurement options, including a third-party power
purchase agreement (PPA), the purchase of renewable energy
certificates, or self-generation.
Vietnam will be piloting its direct PPA scheme starting in 2021
for up to 1 GW, targeting consumers in the industrial manufacturing
sector who have international environment, climate change, or
sustainability commitments. Malaysia is also intending to pilot a
similar scheme in for 100 MW under its Malaysian Electricity Supply
Industry 2.0 (MESI 2.0). Thailand has a new captive independent
power supply (IPS) scheme, in which a PPA can be established
between a power plant and an end user even if the power plant is
not located on-site, as long as the power plant is located on land
owned by the end user.
4) What challenges remain for renewable
development?
Renewable tenders have become increasingly competitive, driving
prices to successive all-time lows. These declines have been a
result of the intense competition and project developers' optimism
about future equipment costs, the financing environment, and
project performance. Given the optimistic assumptions, if any turn
out to be false, this result first thins the margins and then puts
the economic feasibility of the projects at risk. Therefore, the
continued use of tenders to pull prices down regardless of their
economic viability may result in challenges in project financing
and ultimately hinder the proliferation of renewables.
5) Which renewable technology will grow the fastest in
2021?
Solar and onshore wind will remain the mainstay of renewable
energy, contributing to more than 90% of the forecast renewable
capacity additions in 2021. In terms of capacity additions,
although offshore wind pales in comparison, IHS Markit is
forecasting 92% year-on-year growth in 2021.
The offshore wind market is set to grow across the Asia Pacific
region at an unprecedented pace. Currently, there is about 18 GW of
offshore wind capacity under construction, with about 9 GW expected
to come online in 2021. Mainland China will contribute nearly 7 GW
of the additions, as developers will rush to meet the subsidy
deadline by 2021. There will be pressure on the entire supply chain
to commission the projects on schedule owing to the large volume of
projects under construction. There also remains uncertainty as to
whether there will be continued momentum when the subsidy is
removed.
Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are the other three markets where
growth will be strong, albeit small in absolute terms. Currently,
the three markets have about 300 MW of installed offshore capacity,
which is expected to reach 1.6 GW by the end of 2021, translating
to a more than fivefold increase. In total, they have plans to add
about 28 GW (10 GW, 12 GW, and 5.7 GW, respectively).
Alongside these offshore wind markets, Vietnam is also expected
to commission just over 800 MW of intertidal wind projects.
Although the projects are offshore, the execution differs from the
other markets because they are closer and in shallower waters and
typically do not require specialized vessels for development. The
developers will be in a rush to complete their projects ahead of
the November 2021 deadline for the $98/MWh FIT.
