Sunshine could save Southeast Asia $45.4 billion

A Zero Carbon Analytics study finds the region could save US$45.4 billion by building solar instead of the 49 gigawatts of gas plants currently planned across five countries — Vietnam alone has 34.5 gigawatts in the pipeline. Solar now runs about 50 percent cheaper than new gas across the region, and 84 percent cheaper by 2030. In the Philippines, running a gas plant already costs nearly twice what solar would. The cheapest option is also the cleanest.