5 Trends to Watch: 2025 Energy in Asia

1. The Next "Champion" for Offshore Wind Development. While Taiwan has been the focal point for international developers in recent years, we now see Japan, South Korea, India, Vietnam, and potentially the Philippines actively pursuing offshore wind projects. Investors are focusing on Japan and South Korea for opportunities and Japan will likely emerge as the largest offshore wind market in Asia.
   
   
2. BESS - Riding the Renewable Energy Growth. As renewable energy sources continue to expand, maintaining grid stability and reliability becomes increasingly challenging. Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects provide a crucial solution to this intermittency issue, enhancing grid stability and bolstering the resilience and reliability of the electricity supply system. We anticipate significant growth in this sector, with the success of Japan's long-term decarbonization power source auctions potentially leading to similar initiatives in other jurisdictions.
   
   
3. Data Centers and the Challenge to "Go Green." As we advance into the era of artificial intelligence, the growing demand for data storage highlights the urgent need for greener and more sustainable data centers. Developers want to increase adaptation of renewable energy sources to boost sustainability and minimize environmental impact, but the reality of sourcing green energy is a challenge. We anticipate a continued emphasis on energy transition fuels until the region can offer reliable green energy to run data centers.
   
   
4. Lingering Effects of COVID-19. The construction of large-scale energy projects continues to be impacted by the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with widespread reports of cost overruns arising from delays that occurred during the height of the pandemic. Consequently, this is likely to result in an increase in disputes among project participants. Given that disputes for such large-scale energy projects are typically resolved through SIAC or HKIAC arbitration, we anticipate continued growth in international arbitration in the region.
   
   
5. Is Vietnam's Energy Sector Turning the Corner? Although progress has been slower than anticipated, Vietnam is now making significant strides in developing its power sector. Key regulatory milestones have included the long-awaited approval of the National Power Development Plan (PDP 8) in May 2023, PDP 8's implementation plan in April 2024, the issuance of Decree 80 introducing direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanisms in July 2024, and Decree 115 for tender process in September 2024. These developments suggest that Vietnam is on the path to reshaping its regulatory environment for international developers who, in the recent past, have been critical of the lack of clear legal framework and investment certainty.

About the Authors:

Joseph Kim is a global project finance and M&A lawyer, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig's Singapore office, and head of the firm's Asia Energy and Infrastructure Practice. With over 20 years of experience across Asia, Joseph advises on cross-border energy and infrastructure investments, developments, and financings, acting as lenders' and sponsors' counsel on landmark, first-of-its-kind, and large-scale projects worldwide. He leads extensive work in renewables, conventional, and nuclear power, driving progress in the energy transition. Chambers, Legal 500, and Best Lawyers in Japan consistently rank Joseph as a leading practitioner for his deep expertise and trusted counsel.

William Wu advises both public and private clients in their cross-border investment, mergers, spin-offs, joint ventures, and divestment, particularly for energy and infrastructure related projects such as onshore and offshore wind farms, utility scale solar PV and hydro projects, and digital infrastructure projects across jurisdictions. In recent years, William has been particularly known for working on multiple large scale offshore wind projects across Asia Pacific and has guided investors in closing multibillion dollar investments, aggregating more than 2GW worth of projects.

Jared Raleigh is an experienced practitioner advising on large-scale and complex infrastructure and energy projects. Based in Singapore since 2011, Jared focuses his practice on project development, with broad experience advising sponsors, lenders, and contractors on the full suite of project documentation for established and emerging markets.