Southeast Asia Faces Major Energy Storage Shortfall as Investment Struggles to Keep Pace

SOUTHEAST ASIA, October 13, 2026 — Southeast Asia is facing a significant energy storage gap as investment in battery systems and electricity networks struggles to keep pace with the region’s renewable energy ambitions, according to a new report by energy think tank Ember.

The report, Bankable by Design: Financing ASEAN’s Energy System Transformation, estimates that ASEAN will need 23–26 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030, while publicly announced utility-scale storage projects expected by the end of the decade amount to approximately 7 GW. The current pipeline therefore represents less than one-third of the capacity indicated by regional energy-transition scenarios.

The findings highlight a growing challenge for ASEAN: mobilising investment not only for renewable energy generation, but also for the storage and transmission infrastructure needed to integrate more solar and wind power into electricity networks.

A Growing Gap Between Renewable Energy and Storage

As solar and wind capacity expands across Southeast Asia, electricity systems require greater flexibility to accommodate fluctuations in renewable generation and changes in demand.

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) can help address these challenges by shifting electricity from periods of high generation to periods of higher demand. They can also provide balancing and other grid services, supporting system reliability as renewable energy penetration increases.

However, storage deployment remains below the levels identified in regional planning scenarios. Ember’s assessment indicates that the gap extends beyond equipment availability and access to capital, with project economics and electricity market structures playing an important role in determining whether investments can proceed.

Bankability Emerges as a Key Investment Challenge

According to Ember, ASEAN’s energy transition financing challenge is shifting from raising capital to developing projects that can deliver predictable and commercially viable returns.

Large utility-scale solar projects have increasingly attracted financing, but smaller renewable energy installations, battery storage and transmission infrastructure continue to face investment challenges.

For storage developers, revenue certainty is particularly important. Battery projects may generate income through energy arbitrage, ancillary services and other grid-support functions. However, opportunities to combine these revenue streams vary across markets