Pacific Money | Economy | Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia’s Solar Panel Boom

It’s not just about China. The world is now benefiting from historically cheap solar panels made in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Solar power is booming these days, with 511 GW of new capacity added in 2025 alone. A big reason is because the cost of solar panels has been dropping fast in recent years, making it genuinely competitive with fossil fuels. Solar is making big gains not just in Europe and North America but in Africa, South Asia, and beyond. So why is solar such an attractive option right now?

There is obviously a demand side component. Renewable energy like solar power is critical for energy security, something that has become painfully obvious to energy importers in recent weeks. But we also need to look at the supply side of the ledger, where solar is becoming increasingly affordable because of large production increases. China is the world’s biggest producer, but solar cells and panels have become a major industrial force throughout Southeast Asia.

Thailand and Malaysia have long been reliable makers and exporters of solar cells and panels, while Vietnam has risen rapidly in recent years to become the second largest producer in the world after China. Even Indonesia has lately joined the party.

According to the Atlas of Economic Complexity, Malaysia accounted for approximately 4 percent of the world’s solar panel exports in 2024. Thailand accounted for 5 percent, with 15 solar cell and module manufacturers and a production capacity of roughly 10 GW per year. Both Malaysia and Thailand have consistently been producing solar cells for export at around these levels for many years.

The real growth story in solar is Vietnam. In 2017, Vietnam exported $2.1 billion in photosensitive semiconductors, including solar cells and panels, equal to around 4 percent of global supply. By 2023, exports of solar panels had surged to nearly $8 billion or 13 percent of global supply. The industry employs around 50,000 workers, with a production capacity of 18.4 GW per year. This rapid expansion has been attributed to favorable policies, the judicious use of special economic zones, and rising inflows of Chinese investment.

Vietnam is rapidly becoming Southeast Asia’s newest export-led manufacturing powerhouse, so it’s not really surprising that they are scaling up production of clean energy like solar panels. Perhaps somewhat less expected is that in nearby Indonesia, we are also finally starting to see the emergence of a nascent solar panel industry.

Indonesia has been much slower than some of........

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