Energy Watch
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In today’s industrial environment, making decisions based solely on direct observation or historical data is no longer enough. Operations are now more demanding, assets are more sophisticated, all while the margins of error are decreasing. At the same time, organisations must make faster, higher-stakes decisions in increasingly complex environments. In this context, the ability to [...]
Across Southeast Asia, electricity systems are being reshaped by two parallel trends: rising demand and increasing exposure to global energy markets. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), fossil fuels have met nearly 80% of the region’s increase in energy demand since 2010, with coal accounting for around half of Southeast Asia’s electricity generation in [...]
Across ASEAN, governments are pursuing increasingly ambitious decarbonisation targets while facing rapid growth in electricity demand – driven by industrialisation, urbanisation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data centres – with regional studies projected that electricity demand could nearly triple by 2050. At the same time, many economies in the region continue to rely heavily on fossil [...]
Driven by rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI), Malaysia has rapidly emerged as a data centre hub in Southeast Asia, with growth concentrating in areas like Johor and Cyberjaya. The country has secured 8.3 GW of planned data centre capacity, which represents over two-thirds of all capacity under construction across ASEAN’s five main economies. However, [...]
Cities are the economic engines of their nations, generating about 80% of global GDP. Yet they also account for 75% of global energy consumption and 70% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a challenge highlighted during the 5th Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Roundtable on Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth in 2025. Nonetheless, density, [...]
2026 marks ten whole years since the Paris Agreement united the world in the fight against climate change: a milestone that is less about reflection and more about reckoning with what comes next. The global climate agenda is entering a decisive phase, as the world moves beyond setting targets to delivering measurable outcomes at speed [...]
As the urgency of climate action grows, cities are becoming central to both managing climate risks and advancing solutions at scale. By 2050, nearly 70% of the global population is projected to live in cities. But amid intensifying climate risks, urban areas need resilient infrastructure that not only meets current needs but can withstand and [...]
The ASEAN Power Grid (APG) is entering a more defining stage. Early cross-border electricity trade under the Laos–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) is beginning to show how power can move across national boundaries in a coordinated way, offering a clearer picture of what a connected regional grid could deliver. With COP31 on the horizon, attention [...]
As countries accelerate their shift away from coal, a new question is emerging: what becomes of the infrastructure that once powered industrial growth? Instead of retiring them altogether, utilities are recognising the value of repurposing coal infrastructure with creative strategies to deploy renewables, low carbon fuels, battery storage and more. Malaysia is entering a similar [...]
Image source: asean.org Malaysia has closed its chapter as ASEAN Chair after a year that tested regional leadership. Global conflicts, economic uncertainty and growing geopolitical strain formed the backdrop to its 2025 chairmanship. Against this context, Malaysia steered ASEAN’s agenda with a steady hand, balancing diplomacy with delivery while keeping regional cooperation intact. Over the course…
