Biogas-to-Electricity Development in ASEAN: Challenges and Opportunities were finally launched on 29 November 2022. The study emphasises the importance of biogas-to-electricity expansion in the region by examining the current state of biogas and exploring a framework for identifying barriers and opportunities.

ASEAN-German Energy Programme (AGEP) Phase II, a jointly implemented programme between the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has started the development of this study since end of last year. A focus group discussion (FGD) was also organised in March to gather inputs from related stakeholders and validate some initial results.

Government officials, private sectors, researchers, and energy experts from ASEAN Member States (AMS) attended the launching event virtually. Remarks from the Executive Director of ACE, Dr. Nuki Agya Utama, and the Principal Advisor of AGEP, Mr Sergey Makarov, highlighted the role of biogas, which emerges as one of the key options for ASEAN countries, not only in meeting the growing energy demand but also to diversify the national energy mix and be the solution to enhance electrification.

Ms Ngoc Huong Giang Vu from ACE presented some key findings from this publication, including the enabling factors to scale up the implementations of biogas-to-electricity in ASEAN:

1. Robust and supportive regulatory frameworks
2. Synergy and effective coordination
3. Advocacy and policymaker engagement
4. International collaborations and adoption of proven successful models
5. Key stakeholder capacity building and access to financing
6. Broad public awareness of the environmental co-benefits of biogas

The panel discussion in this event was moderated by Dr Zulfikar Yurnaidi from ACE, inviting all-female panellists from different ASEAN countries: Ms Juthamas Kijjanuluk from Thailand’s Energy Ministry, Ms Thoa Le Thi from GIZ Vietnam, and Ms Ade Sri Rahayu from Indonesia. The featured panelists were not only able to share their perspectives and experiences, but they also learned from each other’s best practices.

This study, which was endorsed by the ASEAN Renewable Energy Sub-Sector Network (RE-SSN) during their annual meeting in May 2022, is expected to provide insights into what is needed to boost the biogas deployment in the region and identify how biogas can support to reach the renewable energy (RE) target of 23% in total primary energy supply (TPES) in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Phase II: 2021-2025. To find out more about the report, please access here: https://aseanenergy.org/biogas-publication/