Asia’s energy landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, driven not only by how much electricity the region needs, but how it is being consumed.
At the forefront of this change is a surge in electricity demand driven by data centres, which are transforming traditional demand curves and putting new strains on power systems that were never engineered to support 24/7 digital infrastructure.
“We have entered an era of demand-centred change,” said Gagan Porwal, global head of operations and software, Consulting Services at GE Vernova. “The demand from data centres, for commercial and industrial growth of all economies, needs to be met – and this kind of demand did not exist three years ago.”
GE Vernova, a global energy company providing purpose-built solutions, has been ramping up the supply of its gas turbines to meet multiple global contracts to support players that are building massive data centre campuses.
In Southeast Asia, the company has also been working with regional think tanks and governments to study what it means to strengthen electricity interconnections between countries to help grow the share of renewable energy resources, while ensuring grid stability. The rapid growth in demand for dispatchable power highlights how quickly energy systems must evolve, said Porwal.
“The way we are incentivising the energy transition push now is by thinking about capacity expansion, but we need to start thinking about capabilities [in meeting demand]. It would no longer just be “make 5 gigawatts (GW) [of power] available for me” but will soon shift to “make 5 GW available for me at 4pm, at this particular place.”
Working with the think tank Asean Centre for Energy (ACE), GE Vernova has provided recommendations in reference to a regional interconnection masterplan study on how a refreshed interregional energy transmission approach can help countries deploy the best mix of energy between renewable and gas, reducing dependency on coal over the long term by sourcing more efficient energy sources and maximising the impact of interregional renewable generation capacities. It also looked at implementing technologies like carbon capture, as well as fuels such as hydrogen, and hence tackling the risk of increasing emissions due to prolonged usage of coal.
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We are witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime shift in the energy landscape and for that, power needs to be adequate at all points in time.
Gagan Porwal, global head of operations and software, Consulting Services, GE Vernova
In a joint interview at Enlit Asia 2025 in Bangkok, Eco-Business speaks to Porwal, as well as Wei Nan Yew, regional general manager for gas power, South Asia Pacific, GE Vernova, about how regional operators and regulators can manage a “generational shift” in energy consumption and their arguments for the role that gas can play in the energy transition.
*GP indicates Gagan Porwal’s answers, while YWN indicates Wei Nan Yew’s answers.
What is GE Vernova’s take on Asean’s shifting energy landscape, including the challenge of balancing energy security with the growing push for renewables?
GP: The Asean Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS-III) was developed by the Asean Centre of Energy (ACE). GE Vernova’s Consulting Services worked with ACE to help develop AIMS-IIIin the first phase and most recently, in the second phase, it is engaging the centre to update the study, incorporating the latest developments in the region’s power mix. The objective of the study is to identify and prioritise the key interconnections that would enable higher levels of renewables penetration in Asean.
Our assessments projected that the peak demand would significantly accelerate, reaching about 400 gigawatts (GW) by 2040. This translates to a total installed capacity requirement of about 742 GW. These projections haven’t changed noticeably between the two updates we did for AIMS. In fact, we are seeing faster shifts. For example, Vietnam’s solar project boom in 2020 saw it surpass its 2025 target for solar power capacity ahead of time, although the overall renewables picture is complex and the country still has to solve major grid infrastructure development and modernisation needs.
Gagan Porwal (left), global head of operations and software, Consulting Services and Wei Nan Yew, regional general manager for gas power, South Asia Pacific at GE Vernova. Image: GE Vernova
We also projected that renewables, primarily solar and wind, have the potential to make up about 37 per cent of the total energy mix by 2040 – about 176 GW of solar and 96 GW of wind power capacity will need to be added. That is a lot to build out and for us to help renewables scale it is essential to address the issues of renewables intermittency and lack of inertia. Power grids, as we know today, were designed in the early 1960s with rotating assets in mind that provide inertia to keep the system stable and reliable. To me, gas then becomes an anchoring solution and needs to play a fundamental role, so that renewables get the right catalyst to scale.
For GE Vernova, it is important that grid stability and system adequacy are not compromised. A function of that is having the right level of [power] generation and transmission which matches the level of consumption. From a company portfolio perspective, having gas turbine technology provides us with an avenue to reduce carbon emissions by moving away from coal more immediately. Gas technology can be further complemented by implementing decarbonisation solutions like carbon capture. The grid is seen as “ground zero” for decarbonisation and the energy transition, hence the electrification business supports other aspects of grid modernisation, such as enabling high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, flexible alternating current (AC) transmission systems and providing high capacity transformers.
In April this year, GE Vernova CEO also said during an earnings call that the market knows it needs gas for longer and there is an indication of continued strength in gas demand. How does that then sit with your plan to achieve your net zero targets and your support for the broader push for renewables?
GP: We are witnessing a generational shift not just in the way electrons are produced, but the way they are consumed. We have entered an era of demand-centred change, driven by the demand from data centres, which did not exist three years ago. This demand that will support the high trajectory growth of Asean economies needs to be met.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime shift and what it means is that power needs to be adequate at all points in time. Gas, we believe, provides the right base load generation for us to support such demand, and would open up avenues for renewables to properly scale.
We are also working towards our commitments for decarbonisation, whether it is meeting the 2050 Scope 3 targets for use of our sold products that we have declared or supporting our customers in decarbonising via technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen.
YWN: Previously the utilities were focused on centralised, base load power generation, but now with the push for renewable energy, generation will be more distributed across a country or region and that requires more investment into the grid to transmit power from the distributed generation. In most countries, the grid is now facing constraints in terms of handling the distributed generation and also renewable energy intermittencies. As you build up renewables capacity, you will need to have gas to complement that. The next battleground is really to ensure that the grid is resilient to handle the renewables ramp-up.
GP: It is the fundamental issue: the backbone of the energy transition is the grid system and infrastructure. You might be able to invest in building any amount of more sustainable power installations but there is no point if you cannot distribute it to the place where it is needed.
Are there other examples where you have seen positive signs of grid expansion and modernisation?
GP: The pace of electrification and the strengthening of the grid is picking up in the region.
The drivers are quite different from what we are seeing in other parts of the world – Europe, with its strong regulatory push and focus on energy security and North America with its large-scale power demand growth and extreme weather mitigation efforts. Here in Asia, we are seeing rapid growth in renewables, industrialisation and urbanisation. We are engaged in all geographies across different stakeholders, from data centres to utilities to system operators. Based on our observations, Asia and North America are leading when it comes to generating the momentum needed for grid expansion.
In Southeast Asia, we are at an earlier stage of getting the interconnected systems established, both within countries as well as across the region. We are seeing significant data centre growth, and we will be able to support that by ensuring there are substation facilities [that will take high-voltage electricity from the grid and convert it to a lower voltage suitable for the data centres to ensure stable and uninterrupted power supply] or other ways of connecting to the grid.
Essential to grid expansion is grid orchestration and planning which fuels the infrastructure build-out and management for reliability, resilience and stability. We are working across inter-governmental agencies, energy market authorities, utilities and system operators to enable that – the industry is shifting rapidly to a level of complexity that demands collaboration across electricity value chains with the right partners. These questions are no longer simple to address: how do I dispatch [power]? How do I re-dispatch? How do I charge? How do I plan with certainty for uncertainty? They will need more wide-ranging and deep domain system expertise powered by software. Our ability to bring this to comprehensive grid orchestration cuts across planning for the long term to operating the system and its market day to day. Through GridOS and PlanOS, we give our stakeholders the capacity to assess, execute and implement with speed and the right level of fidelity.
Can you share more about addressing this demand from data centre operators?
GP: Let me first share an example. Residential power use has a decently predictable pattern with some manageable outliers during power outages. We follow our daily schedules – I get up, get ready, have breakfast, go to the office, switch the lights off at home, and when I come back, they come back on. If the power goes out for some reason in my neighbourhood, I can wait for a few minutes, manage without power, hoping that back-up comes on.
But demand centres like data centres have completely different consumption curves – predictable but requiring the highest level of availability and reliability at the point of use 24/7 to match the load pattern driven by data centre usage at all times. How do we manage and supply for the emerging AI applications that are evolving with high speed, more energy intensive processes and hardware? The AI race can only be as fast as the electrons that race towards it. This is where our ability to provide integrated solutions that deliver to data centers, utilities and system operators the best solution, while collaboration with the industry eco-system becomes a key enabler to support the growth of this sector. We are ready across our entire business portfolio to service this demand.
The data centre stakeholders – whether they are hyperscalers or co-locaters are increasingly working hand in hand with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like us and electricity value chain stakeholders to accelerate the access and availability of power capacity in all configurations – whether it’s behind the meter or grid connected, or a hybrid model. Our customers in this space all have similar needs, so we need to connect the missing pieces, be the connective tissue holding the integrated solution together – solving for the best way to orchestrate a power system that provides reliable, sustainable and resilient electricity access.
You have described how data centres are reshaping energy demand, but it is happening globally and not just in Asia. What is unique about this trend in the Southeast Asian context, in terms of the challenges or opportunities it presents?
GP: As AI adoption continues to grow across Asean, I think the biggest challenge is that system operators, utilities and the regulators need to be equipped immediately with tools, processes and information to catalyse this demand build-out. They will need information on where an additional megawatt of electrons needs to be “injected” and where it can be “consumed”. They need to know where the high congestion points are, and they rely on technology providers like us to provide them with that information. Once the information is available, how quickly can they then take action to reinforce the grid or to put a new asset in place to supply the additional energy needed?
It is a dance that has to be carefully orchestrated because one misstep will not only cause a delay but introduce instability into the grid system. This is a region which is scaling relatively faster than other parts of the world on all fronts from e-commerce to fintech. We need to ensure that a solid foundation, built on a power infrastructure backbone, is able to service that momentum.
What’s unique about the region is the diversity of generation resources that we have – from hydropower to wind to well-running gas generation systems. Interconnections are expected to play a key role in absorbing higher levels of renewables which means that we have an opportunity to make power available across national borders faster while new generation is being built.
What also becomes important for us is how we generate the right investment signals through power markets or other government-supported mechanisms that incentivise the development or upgrading of generation and transmission assets. Current power market structures in the region will need evolution that supports not just capacity procurement, but also capability procurement.
In your interactions with data centre operators and technology companies, what are your observations about how they are thinking about the right energy mix of renewables and gas?
GP: Top of their mind is to get the electricity that is needed to operate [the data centres]. The nuance is that as they procure what is needed to meet their energy demand, and are mostly doing so in such a way that is not adding new carbon. Their immediate concern is: how can you help us solve the issue of energy availability?
This is a region rich in resource diversity with interconnections providing a platform for accessing the right mix of energy. In Asean, we are seeing the market of renewable energy certificates (RECs) evolving and it needs to scale. Asean is blessed with an abundance of renewable energy resources and eventually all of these electrons will start finding their way to the data centres. Beyond that, decarbonisation solutions will have to be considered and further developed, for example the use of carbon capture technologies or hydrogen.
YWN: Yes, they need energy to be made available in the short term, and subsequently they will ask: what’s my pathway to net zero? I think the onus falls on integrated power system providers and the developers to address the gaps. It is also where GE Vernova can play an important role in providing an effective pathway in terms of future proofing the investment for the power generators to ensure they do not end up with stranded assets as the low carbon fuel technology continues to evolve.
What is the cheapest way to decarbonise the region’s energy sector?
YWN: We need a good energy mix and you cannot totally swing to one end of the spectrum suddenly. We have seen examples of countries that have fully adopted renewables and now they face the challenge of addressing the energy trilemma [of also ensuring affordability and security] because of the rapid rollout. For Southeast Asia, affordability is a strong consideration for all developing countries, so striking a balance is important. There is no cookie-cutter solution.
GP: The coal-to-gas transition, the decarbonisation of the existing installed bases, and ensuring that we have highly efficient gas turbines supported by carbon capture technologies will all have to happen in parallel [to the renewables push]. We need to do it in a certain order that doesn’t break the grid and power system.
