West Asia photovoltaic energy storage price trough

The market value of wind and solar power in Asia Pacific continues to decline relative to fossil fuels as transmission lines are overloaded. Wind and solar capture prices from wholesale markets are falling; they were 4% lower than those of coal power in 2022 and this gap is predicted to widen to 20% by 2030 as renewables are more widely adopted.

Utility PV emerged as the cheapest power source in 11 out of 15 countries in the Asia Pacific,” said Sooraj Narayan, Senior Research Analyst, APAC Power & Renewables at Wood Mackenzie. The new-build solar project costs will drop another 20% by 2030, driven by falling module prices and increasing oversupply from China.

Asia Pacific power & renewables strategic planning outlook 2023 provides a detailed run-down on which countries are most vulnerable to global market volatility, which have increased regulations to combat price rises during 2022 and much more. Our complimentary extract includes charts on:

There is a mixed forecast for Asia Pacific's energy investors. The region is a powerhouse, with heavy demand and strong supply to match. Recent high prices have boosted the 10-year investment outlook by 50% through the energy crisis to US$3.3 trillion across both renewables and fossil fuel technology.

Coal remains one of Asia's cheapest new-build power generation options, but the higher carbon output that comes with its growth will set the region's emissions peak back. CO 2 emissions grew by 568 million tonnes between 2020 and 2022, and are predicted to peak at 7.8 billion tonnes in 2027, before dropping 48% by 2050 as clean options catch up.

Despite rapid growth, battery storage accounted for under 0.5% of total installed capacity in 2022. It's predicted to reach just 2.9% by 2030 and 10% by 2050. While battery storage investment is increasing it is not yet sufficient to keep pace with demand from renewables growth.