Southeast Asia's Photovoltaic Market Is Developing Rapidly

As the global photovoltaic market continues to expand, the photovoltaic industry in Southeast Asia has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities. By the end of 2023, the total cumulative photovoltaic installed capacity of Southeast Asian countries will be about 18.7 GW. In 2024, the newly installed capacity of the five countries with the largest photovoltaic installed capacity in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore) will exceed 6 GW, nearly three times that of 2023, showing huge market potential.
Photovoltaic installed capacity continues to expand
Southeast Asia has superior natural conditions for developing the photovoltaic industry. Most countries in the region are in the tropics, with long sunshine hours throughout the year and abundant solar energy resources. In recent years, the photovoltaic installed capacity and market scale of many countries in the region have continued to expand.
Vietnam is the country with the largest increase in photovoltaic installed capacity in Southeast Asia in the past 10 years, and it is also the largest photovoltaic market in the region.
In September 2024, Malaysia's largest floating + ground photovoltaic fusion project was officially put into operation, with a total installed capacity of 100 MW, consisting of a 35 MW floating photovoltaic power station and a 65 MW ground power station. It is expected that the annual power generation can offset more than 200,000 tons of carbon emissions.
Policy support from various countries
ASEAN has set a goal of increasing the proportion of renewable energy in primary energy consumption to 23% by 2025, and plans to further increase investment in renewable energy in the future. To achieve this goal, ASEAN countries have introduced a number of policy measures to encourage the development of the photovoltaic industry.
In June 2024, the Thai Ministry of Energy formulated a new version of the power development plan. The goal of the plan is to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the energy structure from 20% in 2023 to 51% by 2037.
In July 2024, the Vietnam Electricity Group announced that it would purchase surplus electricity generated by solar panels on the roofs of homes and office buildings at a price of 671 VND per kilowatt-hour (1 US dollar is approximately 25,520 VND) to supplement its power supply.
In January 2025, the latest adjusted Malaysia Solar Self-Use Plan officially came into effect to further accelerate energy transformation.
Overall, Southeast Asia has economic growth, policy promotion and international financial support in developing the photovoltaic industry. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are the five major photovoltaic demand countries in Southeast Asia. By introducing a series of favorable policies, it is expected to drive Southeast Asia to become one of the key photovoltaic markets. It is expected that the Southeast Asian photovoltaic market will maintain steady growth in the next few years and become an important part of the global energy transformation.