Southeast Asia Seen Attracting $70 Billion on Hydro Battery Boom

(Bloomberg) -- Southeast Asia is expected to attract as much as $70 billion of investment over the next decade in hydro energy storage systems in order to manage an increase in intermittent renewables, according to a report from Rystad Energy.  

Capacity for pumped hydro, which uses water and gravity to save excess power until it’s needed, will increase nearly eightfold and hit 18 gigawatts by 2033, the report said. While Thailand currently has the largest capacity, the Philippines will soon take the lead as the nation has about 5.7 gigawatts in the pipeline, the report said. 

Large-scale energy storage systems including pumped hydro can complement Southeast Asia’s growing wind and solar generation, which can fluctuate based on weather conditions. This could be a boon for the region, which is grappling with rapidly growing power demand that stretches the grid and risks blackouts.

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