HIGHLIGHTS
- Lower Mekong countries were uncertain how best to expand clean energy use.
- Abt provided technical assistance to the public and private sectors through this USAID program.
- The private sector took the lead in developing and financing projects, enabled by governments that promote clean energy use.
The Challenge
Energy consumption across Southeast Asia is projected to double by 2040. If the region continues to rely heavily on conventional energy sources such as coal to meet demand, the negative impacts on ecosystems, human health, and livelihoods throughout the Mekong River basin and beyond will be far-reaching. Abt worked to encourage power-sector investments in clean, grid-connected renewable energy sources throughout the region—driving toward a vision of stable clean power sustainably supplied across the Lower Mekong.
The Approach
USAID’s Abt-led Clean Power Asia encouraged power-sector investments in environmentally-friendly, clean energy sources, including bringing more renewable energy into electricity grids. Our approach—enabled by the public sector and led by the private sector—integrated flexible activities that strengthened power systems within and across borders. The project also gathered datasets to support national renewable energy targets and integration of the targets into power development and integrated resource plans.
The Results
The project ran from June 2016 to June 2021 and reported the following results:
- Contributed to 16 new policies and regulations proposed, adopted, and/or implemented
- Over $7 billion USD in renewable energy investments
- Nearly 10,000 megawatts of capacity installed or reaching financial closure
- Prevented 93 million tons of CO2 equivalent from being released over the next 15 years
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