Our experience over the past 12 months reflects what we are seeing in terms of major themes in the sector, including:
Rise of offshore wind in Asia
The continued rise of offshore wind in North Asia, including as Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other new markets (notably Australia and the Philippines) look to build on the success of the Taiwan story. We have acted on almost all closed project financings for offshore wind in these markets and continue to be busy working on a range of ongoing projects in these markets.
New investors entering the market
New investors entering the Asia Pacific, including strategic developers seeking new opportunities away from their existing markets and an upsurge in interests from financial sponsor clients, including specialist energy and infrastructure funds. This has increasingly involved innovative investment platforms involving the transfer of existing assets and arrangements for the joint acquisition and funding of future opportunities.
Innovative financing approaches
The development of innovative financing approaches to support renewables projects, including portfolio structures, holdco financings, green bonds and other solutions which are tailored to the specific requirements of the sector.
New emerging technologies
Continued focus on new and emerging technologies such as green hydrogen (including in Japan as an export target for leaders in this space such as Australia) and utility-scale batteries (linked to renewables projects which being explored in Korea among others) in each case which are likely to accelerate the renewables story and attract further international investment.
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Asia Pacific Renewable Energy Insights 2022
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Explore our insights on renewable energy across Asia Pacific
This jurisdictional overview highlights key regulatory, and other challenges and opportunities in the key markets in Asia Pacific for renewables.
Select a jurisdiction on the map to explore in more detail.
ESG continues to dominate the agenda
We expect the pace of change on all matters environmental, social and governance (ESG) to continue accelerating in 2022. On the environmental front, climate change will remain high on the investor and regulatory agenda. 2021 saw a spate of high-profile climate pledges – from governments, banks, asset managers, pension schemes and corporates alike. The focus in 2022 will be on ensuring that net zero targets and pledges made by businesses are translated into concrete and robust plans. Following the global climate summit, COP26, in November 2021, global leaders have agreed to revisit their national targets before COP27 in Cairo this year with the aim of setting more ambitious climate strategies. 2022 will also provide a practical demonstration of the appetite for ESG-led change that governments, major corporates and financial institutions all have, and how far this will feed into smaller businesses and everyday life. Our ESG team has a robust understanding of the regulatory and policy drivers of the market and experience across a wide range of sectors and contexts. We take a holistic approach, covering a wide range of areas - from climate change and resource efficiency, human rights and community engagement, antibribery and corruption, transparency and disclosure, product governance, and risk management more generally.
Our renewable energy contacts across Asia Pacific
If you would like to find out more about how we can help you with your renewables projects across Asia, please get in touch with a member of the team.
Related reports and guides
ESG Legal Outlook 2022
18 January 2022
2022 will provide a practical demonstration of the appetite for ESG-led change that governments, major corporates and financial institutions all have, and how far this will feed into smaller businesses and everyday life. In this publication we explore key global ESG themes we believe will shape the legal outlook for businesses in 2022. We also look at the evolving ESG landscape in 30 jurisdictions.
Getting Hy? Ambition and the art of the possible in the search for a hydrogen economy
2 December 2021
There has been a flurry of recent announcements on the potential for clean hydrogen to propel the global energy transition. In Europe alone, Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, the Netherlands and the European Commission have each published hydrogen strategies in the last several months. There is a clear sense in which clean hydrogen is viewed by many countries as the “missing link” required in order to achieve a fully functioning net zero economy consistent with their Paris Agreement objectives.
Vietnam Offshore Wind: Where to from here?
29 May 2020
In this report, we set out a brief overview of the Vietnam wind market, the key legal issues for investors and the challenges that they need to consider when investing in offshore wind in Vietnam.
Japan Offshore Wind (4th Edition)
22 November 2021
We are pleased to launch our new report Japan Offshore Wind (4th Edition): Winds of Change.
Korea Offshore Wind (2nd Edition)
18 November 2019
We are pleased to launch our report Korea Offshore Wind (2nd Edition): A Turning Point. This report is aimed at providing a high level overview of the opportunities and challenges in developing an offshore wind project in Korea.
A Net Zero System
23 October 2020
Commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 will only be achieved with significant new investment and a rapid change in the sourcing of some of our most fundamental commodities, energy and water. The technological revolution combined with ESG pressure is propelling the global economy towards the energy transition, decarbonisation and adaptation.