WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

3.4 South-Eastern Asia
Lara Esser, International Center on Small Hydro Power
Introduction to the region
South-Eastern Asia (hereafter SEA) comprises 11
countries, 10 of which are independent members of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and the newly independent Timor-Leste. 1 For the
ASEAN-6 region (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam), nearly
85 per cent of electrical power is generated from fossil
fuels. The renewable mix relies almost exclusively on
hydro and geothermal electricity generation (12 per
cent and 3 per cent respectively). 2 Hydropower
development in the region can help ASEAN achieve its
target of 15 per cent of renewable energy in the total
ASEAN power supply by 2020.
A predominantly tropical climate subjects the
inhabitants to a range of natural hazards including
annually occurring monsoon floods, droughts and
tropical cyclones. Manmade disasters are also a
feature of SEA due to its burgeoning population, thus
increasing the its vulnerability to the impacts of
climate change, especially to those living below an
income of US$1-US$2 a day. 1 In addition, the
combination of rapid economic development coupled
with the very rapid urbanization rate globally has led
SEA to emit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions twice as
fast as the global average. 1 Yet SEA does have one of
the greatest potentials for mitigating carbon dioxide
through the reduction of deforestation and improved
land management practice. Meanwhile its vast
untapped opportunities in renewable energy
development and energy efficiency should play an
integral role in curbing future emissions.
Table 1
Overview of countries in South-Eastern Asia
Country
Population
(million)
Rural
Population
(%)
Electricity
access
(%)
Electrical
capacity
(MW)
Electricity
generation
(GWh/year)
Hydropower
capacity
(MW)
Hydropower
generation
(GWh/year)
Cambodia adej 14.14 80 29.0 538 2 330 13.3 50.0
Indonesia afg 239.87 56 67.2 35 313 177 883 4 519.0 11 000.0
Laos acf 6.48 67 55.0 742 1 553 2 000.0 10 000.0
Malaysia acf 28.40 28 99.4 22 973 101 100 1 910.0 4 950.0
Myanmar acf 47.96 66 13.0 2 256 6 426 1 541.0 7 830.0
Philippines acf 93.26 51 89.7 13 459 59 190 3 291.0 6 432.0
Thailand acfh 69.12 66 99.3 30 920 139 000 3 424.0 5 314.0
Timor-Leste acf 1.20 72 22.0 45 .. 0.3 1.5
Viet Nam abcfi 86.93 70 97.6 16 048 97 300 5 500.0 24 000.0
Total 587.36 - - 122 294 584 782 22 198.6 69 577.5
Sources
a. Central Intelligence Agency 3
b. Reegle 4
c. International Energy Agency 5
d. World Bank 6
e. Cambodia Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy 7
f. International Journal on Hydropower and Dams 8
g. Indonesia Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology 9
h. Thailand Department of Water Resources 10
i. Viet Nam Institute of Energy 11
j. Cambodia Deputy Office of General Department of Energy 12
Small hydropower definition
Table 2
Classification of small hydropower in South-Eastern
Asia
Country
Small
(MW)
Mini
(MW)
Micro (kW)
Pico (kW)
Cambodia -- 0.5–10 up to 500 --
Indonesia 5–10 0.2–5 1–200 up to 1
Laos 1-15 0.1-1 5–100 up to 5
Malaysia 1-10 -- up to 1 000 --
Myanmar -- -- -- --
Philippines -- 0.1–10 1–100 up to 1
Thailand 6–15 0.2–6 up to 200 --
Timor-Leste -- -- -- --
Vietnam 1-30 0.001-1 0.2–1 --
Source: See country reports
The SEA region experiences various small hydropower
definitions, including pico-hydro. Classification by
various countries within the region can be found in
table 2.
Regional overview and potential
Small hydropower has been adopted by -9 of the 11
countries in the region (table 3). Hydropower plays an
important role in electricity production both in
Vietnam as well as the Philippines.
The largest installed small hydropower capacity can be
found in Viet Nam (622 MW), followed by the
Philippines (248 MW), Thailand (146 MW) and
270