As the name suggests, isolated grids – also known as mini grids, off grids or micro grids – are standalone grids that are not connected to other power grids. They involve small scale power generation of between 10 kilowatt (kW) and 10 megawatt (MW) and are usually deployed in rural communities living in inaccessible, remote areas. Rural electrification is a potent enabler of economic growth and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region is not short of such areas.

According to a World Bank report on Lao in 2017, the country pleasantly surprised many by becoming one of the fastest growing in the region. The World Bank even ranked Lao as the 13th fastest growing economy of 2016. Bloomberg forecasted last year that the country will continue to grow, sustaining at least 7% growth until 2019.One of the contributors to the country’s rapid growth is its expanding energy segment – most notably the hydroelectric sector.

With electricity demand in Vietnam growing 12 percent annually, the Vietnamese government has set a goal to generate 265 billion kWh of electricity by 2020 and 570 billion kWh of electricity by 2030. This is to meet the surging demand for power resulting from rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in the country. Currently, Vietnam produces more than 170 billion kWh of electricity from fossil energy sources, such as coal and gas – which are speedily being exhausted.

Southeast Asia has abundant energy resources but is generally slow to diversify its energy mix to include renewable energy (RE) sources, according to the ‘Renewable Energy Market Analysis – Southeast Asia’ report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This is due in part to problems accessing adequate financing for such projects.

 Natural gas has made up 40% of ASEAN electricity generation since 2000, according to the Southeast Asia Energy Outlook report 2017.

The Philippines was recently ranked number one for environmental sustainability by the World Energy Council (WEC), in January 2018.

In the modern world, electricity is deemed a necessity – powering up households and businesses which in turn drives economic growth. It also makes life more comfortable and innovation possible. But given the urban-rural divide which is prevalent almost everywhere in Southeast Asia, electricity is somewhat a luxury to some – especially for those living in far-off rural areas.

Southeast Asia has varying wind energy resources with Philippines leading the way in terms of having the biggest potential. According to International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2017 Southeast Asia Energy Outlook report, it is stated that the Philippines has an estimated technical potential of “around 70GW”.

Among all the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar lags behind in terms of electricity connectivity to the national grid. Only 35 percent of the population is connected to the national grid, according to a report published by Baker & McKenzie in October, 2017.

Vietnam’s demand for energy has increased at the approximate rate of 12% per year between 2006 and 2015, according to the Vietnam Energy Outlook Report 2017 produced by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry & Trade. Whilst its current installed capacity is only 3.876 million kWh, it will need to produce 245 billion kWh by 2020, according to analysis by the multinational law firm, Clifford Chance in 2017.