2025 in Focus: APAC’s Corporate Clean Energy Momentum

China: Direct Green Power Contracts + Pricing Reform

First National Direct Green Power Procurement Policy

China introduced its first national policy on direct green power supply in May 2025, the “Notice on Orderly Promoting the Development of Green Electricity Direct Connections” (NDRC and NEA, [2025] No. 650), which establishes a framework for supplying renewable electricity directly to end users via dedicated lines. 

The policy is intended to increase local consumption of wind and solar power, alleviate pressure on the public grid, and help global companies address tightening international carbon requirements by enabling physically-traceable green electricity use. At the same time, it imposes strict power supply–demand matching rules, including a requirement that direct green power supply must account for at least 30% of a user’s total electricity demand. 

This significantly limits applicability to large, single electricity consumers such as data centers, chemical complexes, and major industrial facilities. As a result, while the policy supports targeted renewable integration and corporate decarbonization, direct green power supply is likely to remain a niche model unless stronger demand-side incentives or carbon-compliance mechanisms are introduced.

Data Centers Driving Clean Energy Price Increases

Data centers are poised to become a key driver of rising renewable electricity costs in China. Under the “Special Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of Data Centers” (NDRC et al., [2024] No. 970), all new data centers in eight national computing hubs must source over 80% of their electricity from renewable energy starting in 2025. 

Additionally, a national guideline, the “Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Renewable Energy Green Certificate Market” (NDRC et al., [2025] No. 262), requires energy-intensive industries, including data centers, to achieve the country’s average renewable electricity share by 2030, projected at approximately 40%. These measures establish data centers as a rapidly growing driver of corporate demand for green power, with significant implications for the pricing of renewable electricity and green certificates.

From Fixed Tariffs to Market-Based Pricing

The “Notice on Deepening Market-Based Reform of Renewable Energy Grid Tariffs and Promoting High-Quality Development of Renewable Energy” (NDRC & NEA, [2025] No. 136) aims to replace China’s traditional fixed-tariff system with market-determined pricing for grid-connected renewable projects. All renewable projects commissioned after June 2025 will have their prices set through market-based competitive bidding. 

The policy also strengthens spot market rules, enabling renewables to participate fairly in real-time and day-ahead markets with flexible price limits that reflect local peak electricity costs. Moreover, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Energy Administration (NEA) encourage long-term contracts, including multi-year corporate PPAs, to help manage market risk and stabilize supply—creating potential opportunities for corporate buyers to secure extended renewable power deals. 

While the notice represents a major step toward market-oriented renewable pricing, China’s shift from fixed tariffs to market-based pricing may temporarily slow renewable energy growth, as increased revenue uncertainty may discourage investment.

Vietnam: Growth of DPPA Deals Has Remained Limited Due to Market Uncertainty

It has been over a year since Vietnam introduced a formal DPPA framework under Decree No. 80/2024/ND‑CP, which established mechanisms for direct power purchase agreements between renewable energy generators and large consumers. However, few tangible developments have occurred under Vietnam’s DPPA framework since its introduction. Some prominent companies and groups have publicly signaled interest in or progress toward DPPA deals in Vietnam, though many remain at the MoU or preparatory stage rather than having fully executed long-term contracts, as illustrated by the Samsung C&T and K&N Holdings floating solar agreement. 

A key obstacle has been uncertainty stemming from changes to the renewable support regime and actions by the state utility, EVN. Investors have raised concerns about retroactive adjustments to feed‑in tariff (FiT) arrangements, with EVN reportedly reducing payments or applying provisional tariffs to some solar and wind projects, viewed as inconsistent with previously agreed terms. Market participants warn that such retroactive changes undermine confidence in long-term agreements, making developers more cautious about adopting new revenue models such as DPPAs.

Additional constraints include limited implementation guidance and contract templates, grid connectivity and infrastructure limitations, all of which reduce commercial feasibility of DPPAs. 

Thailand: Progress Towards Virtual PPAs

Thailand is advancing its Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) market through the ERC Sandbox, a regulatory program launched in 2019 to support innovative energy solutions. The sandbox provides temporary regulatory flexibility for companies to explore new renewable energy trading models. A key development is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2025 between Gulf Energy Development and Pandora, a Danish jewelry company, for a one-year project to study VPPA feasibility. While this MoU represents Thailand’s first corporate VPPA initiative, it is still at an early planning stage, with no executed contracts yet. The agreement reflects Thailand’s initial steps toward corporate renewable procurement and the development of financial mechanisms to support the energy transition.

India: Draft Virtual PPA guidelines

On May 22, 2025, India’s Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) released Draft Guidelines for Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs). The draft defines VPPAs as long-term, non-tradable, bilateral contracts between a renewable generator and a corporate buyer at a mutually-agreed upon VPPA price. The generator sells electricity through exchanges or other approved routes, while the buyer pays the difference between the VPPA price and market price and receives renewable energy certificates (RECs). 

Importantly, the guidelines clarify that VPPAs would be considered contracts within the power-market perimeter, not financial derivatives, resolving previous Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) jurisdiction uncertainty. CERC, India’s national electricity regulator, noted the framework was nearly final and could enable financing for over 40 GW of uncontracted renewable capacity. Once finalized, it will allow corporations to procure renewable energy without open-access wheeling fees and boost India’s corporate renewable energy procurement.

Conclusion

Corporate renewable energy is picking up steam across APAC in 2025, but progress looks very different from country to country. In China, policies on direct green power and market-based pricing are pushing large consumers to adopt renewables, while in Vietnam, DPPA growth remains slow due to regulatory uncertainty and infrastructure challenges. Thailand and India are taking steps toward virtual PPAs—Thailand with early MoUs under its ERC Sandbox, and India through draft guidelines that clarify contracts and open the door for large-scale corporate deals. Across the region, the appetite for clean energy is clearly growing, but the pace of adoption still depends on stable policies, market readiness, and investor confidence.

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