ASEAN power grid: a secure transmission infrastructure for clean and sustainable energy for South-East Asia

The efficient utilization of clean energy resources to meet increasing electricity demand is imposing the integration of the electricity market and the construction of secure transmission mechanisms around the globe. Accordingly, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is integrating its large geographical power transmission infrastructure via the ASEAN power grid (APG). This study extensively reviews the energy resources (i.e., fossil fuels and renewables), the current utilization, and the future projection for ASEAN. Electricity export-import scenarios and renewable generation based transmission expansion planning practices in ASEAN will also be critically reviewed in this work. Additionally, the major barriers and technical challenges for establishing an ASEAN grid will be briefly analyzed. Finally, this work suggests possible techniques that help expedite the renewable power generations to overcome the limitations associated with the establishment of the APG, as well as future research direction in enhancing the utilization of APG for ASEAN.