Ending 2024 With Purpose

As we move into 2025, SIPET Connect looks forward to continuing to report on new developments and initiatives driving the Energy Transition across Southeast Asia. In 2024, SIPET participated in meaningful conversations, launched practical tools, and highlighted real-world examples of energy transition progress across the region.

To name just a couple—we updated the Project Mapping Tool, which now contains more than 280 projects with a total of more than $9 billion of funding and technical assistance. And in November, we expanded our partnership with Global Energy Monitor, to make several of their new Power Trackers available—namely, the Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker, the Global Wind Power Tracker, and the Global Solar Power Tracker.

We will continue to update you on new tools and features that we bring into the SIPET website throughout 2025.

In this issue, we bring you the latest in our Transition Finance series. This month, we talk to Jason Lee, Head of Sustainability, CIMB Thai Bank. He shares how Thai financial institutions are leveraging transition finance to help industries decarbonize while balancing economic realities. From sustainability-linked loans to strategies for supporting businesses’ low-carbon transformations, Jason offers valuable insights into how banks can drive meaningful climate impact while staying competitive.

We are also happy to end this year on a thought-provoking note with two stories highlighting women-led content. The first is an article on Jitsai Santaputra, an energy consultant and SDG7 Global Youth Ambassador, who works to expand gender inclusivity in Thailand’s energy sector. The second is the poignant story of the young Jejak Kiara in the third short film in the Kiara series—a powerful narrative about energy transition advocacy in Indonesia. The film poses a central question: Can we achieve the change needed for a sustainable future?

Hopefully, this will provide you ample with food for thought for the holiday season.

Building on this year’s progress in advancing milestones for the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) organized the 2nd APG Stakeholder Coordination Meeting Series from 9 to 12 December 2024 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The event brought together more than 100 participants, including representatives from nine ASEAN Member States (AMS), APG task forces, chairs of APG-related bodies, donors, and partners.

With a strong commitment to APG development, the four-day meeting addressed AMS priorities and requirements for ongoing and upcoming APG-related projects in collaboration with both existing and new partners. The discussions also extended beyond ASEAN’s internal agendas to cover enhancements to the APG Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Terms of Reference (ToR) for APG bodies, and the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) post-2025 framework.

The series aimed to support APAEC Programme Area No. 1: APG, by fostering a shared understanding of the status and strategic direction of ongoing and planned APG initiatives.

On 4-5 December 2024, the two-day final session of the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) Conference 2024 was held in Davao City in Philippines, bringing together over 100 participants from sectors ranging from distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, to renewable energy developers and financial institutions. 

The conference, organized by the Department of Energy Philippines (DOE) with support from CASE for SEA, focused on strengthening RPS compliance to meet renewable energy targets. 

Key Highlights: 

• Compliance updates from RPS participants across the Philippines
• Expert insights on energy procurement strategies to optimize flexibility and cost efficiency
• Breakout sessions to foster partnerships and collaboration
• Bilateral consultations tailored to support stakeholders meeting RPS targets 

Collaborative events such as this underscore the importance of shared responsibility and partnership in achieving renewable energy goals to achieve a clean energy transition. 

The Student Forum 2024 was held at the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) from 30 November to 1 December this year, under the theme “Engineering and Technology Towards Carbon Neutrality.”

Organized annually since 2020, the forum is an effort by leading Vietnamese technical universities. This year, 120 student research projects at the forum addressed critical energy topics such as renewable energy, efficient energy management, and electricity transmission. First prizes were awarded to innovative projects on machine learning for fault classification in transmission lines, and hand gesture recognition technology.

At the event, Vu Chi Mai, Project Director, Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) of GIZ, said that GIZ is conducting a study to assess the demand for high-quality human resources in Vietnam’s energy transition sector. This study will focus on analyzing university training programs, market needs, and the key factors necessary for Vietnam to achieve its renewable energy goals. 

“We hope the Student Forum continues to inspire students, helping them better understand their future while creating a springboard for them to confidently enter the green labor market,” she said.

CASE for Southeast Asia presents Jejak Kiara, the latest film in the Kiara Series. It tells the story of Kiara, a young advocate driven by her personal experiences with air pollution. This short film explores the challenges and hopes surrounding energy transition in Indonesia, as we watch Kiara's journey to fight for an emission-free Indonesia by 2050.  

Through Kiara’s journey, the film poses a central question: Can we achieve the change needed for a sustainable future? 

• 9 January 2025 |  International Conference on Green Energy and Environmental Technology | Da Nang, Vietnam | Organized by InterGlobe Research Network | Register here 

• 11-12 January 2025 | International Conference on Renewable Energy and Energy Conversion Processes (ICREECP-25) | Hanoi, Vietnam | Organized by Institute for Technical and Academic Research | Register here 

• 15 January 2025 | Vietnam Offshore Wind Roundtable | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Organized by Asia Wind Energy Association | Register here 

• 15 January 2025 | Watt's Next? Unlocking the Job Market! | Virtual event | Organized by Jobs that make sense Asia | Register here

Jobs 

• Solar Construction Senior Manager | VENA ENERGY | Philippines 

• Solar Construction Senior Associate/Manager | VENA ENERGY | Philippines 

• Director of Operations/Chief Operating Officer(COO) | Asia Clean Energy Partners | Bangkok, Thailand 

• Clean Energy Research Associate | Asia Clean Energy Partners | Bangkok, Thailand 

Looking to get your energy transition job in front of Southeast Asia’s top clean energy professionals? Share your job announcements with SIPET and tap into our growing network of experts, practitioners, and decision-makers across the region and beyond.

Doing good work you want to share? Submit your stories of impact at info@sipet.org to be featured in the next SIPET newsletter! 

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Website: https://www.sipet.org  | Email: info@sipet.org | LinkedIn: Southeast Asia Information Platform for the Energy Transition - SIPET