AlJazeera reporting on the status of a small village’s solar project, and how it has changed lives in the area.
Korean Leadership has vowed to ramp up renewable energy in response to shortages following the Hormuz closure, and the report backs that up.
One unfortunate side effect is extending the life of existing coal fired power plants. While undesirable, I don’t think coal is that much worse that the Liquified Natural Gas that has been cut off. Recent history suggests that, economically, it will not be competitive with a strong solar commitment.
Import-dependent countries such as Pakistan and Thailand have used the moment to emphasize their desire to transition faster to renewables. Pakistan’s rooftop solar boom — sparked in part by natural gas price spikes in 2022 — have helped cushion it from the current supply shock.
“We were on the right track,” the country’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, said at an IMF panel this week. “But clearly we feel the journey needs to be accelerated.”
Thailand’s finance minister, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, echoed that sentiment, pointing to rising costs for oil and gas imports.
“Because of the higher price at the moment, it forces you to transform,” he said. “That’s why we provide … tax incentive [for people] to put solar on their house.”
Nitithanprapas also talked about leveraging investments to expand physical infrastructure such as smart grids and battery storage. That’s something the Asian Development Bank is supporting through a $10 billion program to advance regional connectivity in Southeast Asia.
Kanda, the ADB chief, also called for the pursuit of nuclear power and other alternatives. He acknowledged that while Asian countries have turned to coal to ride out supply challenges with gas, he does not see a long future for that fuel source.