Southeast Asian countries could meet around 8% of total electricity demand growth by 2050 if announced targets for nuclear deployment are met, a report from the International Energy Association (IEA) says.

The Paris-based organisation’s Southeast Asia Energy Outlook report for 2026 said that in terms of generation, announced nuclear output so far would be the equivalent of installing 130 GW of solar energy or 70 GW of wind energy capacity.

The IEA said that Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam have all set clear nuclear targets. A growing number of other countries including Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand, are also all considering developing nuclear power, with a particular focus on small modular reactors (SMRs).

There are no commercial nuclear plants under construction or operating in the region. The Philippines built a Westinghouse-supplied 621-MW pressurised water reactor at Bataan, northwest of Manila, which was completed in 1984, but never commissioned.