Intelligent Energy: How AI is Powering Asia's Secure and Resilient Clean Energy Future

Welcome Remarks

Kavita Gandhi, Executive Director, SEAS

Dr Priyantha Wijayatunga, Senior Director, ADB's Energy Sector Office

Keynote 1: Policy and Investment Enablers — Creating the Conditions for AI-Driven Energy Systems in Asia

AI adoption in the energy sector will not scale on technology alone — it requires enabling policy frameworks, supportive regulatory environments and investment structures that recognise the value of intelligent infrastructure. This keynote examines what governments and development finance institutions are doing to accelerate AI deployment in energy systems across Asia, from data-sharing standards and cybersecurity regulations to blended finance instruments that de-risk first-mover AI investments. The speaker highlights ADB initiatives supporting intelligent energy systems, shares examples of policy best practices from leading Asian markets, and outlines the collaborative agenda needed to ensure AI-driven energy transformation is not only efficient but inclusive and equitable.

Jamila Amodeo, Senior Energy Specialist – Smart Energy Systems, ADB

Keynote 2: AI in Electricity Utilities — Enabling Smarter, Cleaner and More Resilient Energy Systems

Asia-Pacific's rising energy demand presents a critical challenge for electricity utilities: how to maintain affordability and reliability while accelerating decarbonisation. This keynote explores how AI is becoming a foundational capability for smarter, more adaptive and more resilient energy systems. Through real-world examples, it examines how AI can modernise grid operations, improve asset performance, enhance customer experience, and enable the integration of renewable energy at scale — and how utilities can move from AI pilots to enterprise-wide adoption by strengthening governance, data readiness, and workforce capability.

Arun Biswas, Strategic Engagements Leader, IBM

Keynote 3: Intelligent Emissions Monitoring — Real-Time Carbon Accountability for Asia's Energy Transition

As carbon regulations tighten and corporate net-zero commitments face increasing scrutiny, accurate and auditable emissions data is becoming a strategic imperative. This keynote explores how AI and IoT-enabled emissions monitoring platforms give energy producers, industrial facilities, and enterprises real-time visibility into their carbon footprint across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions — moving organisations from annual estimates to continuous, sensor-verified data that supports carbon trading, sustainability reporting, and decarbonisation planning.

Azhar Othman, Executive Chairman, Enercon Asia

Keynote 4: AI-Powered Solar Diagnostics — Maximising Asset Performance and Minimising Risk at Scale

This keynote introduces how AI-driven diagnostics platforms are changing solar asset management — using machine learning to deliver real-time performance monitoring, predictive fault detection, and automated maintenance prioritisation. The keynote also addresses the growing importance of inverter standards and cyber-hardening protocols, sharing case studies that demonstrate how AI reduces downtime and extends asset life while strengthening the cyber resilience of inverter fleets through continuous monitoring of firmware integrity and anomalous communication patterns.

Keynote 5: Powering Asia's Data Centre Boom with Renewable Energy — How AI is Bridging the Gap Between Digital Demand and Clean Supply

This keynote reframes the data centre energy challenge through a renewable energy lens, exploring how leading operators are moving beyond carbon offsets and RECs toward direct integration of solar, wind, and emerging clean energy sources. The speaker examines how AI enables intelligent load shifting that matches compute workloads to periods of peak renewable availability, AI-optimised PPA structuring, and predictive analytics that allow data centres to operate as flexible demand assets supporting grid stability.

Keynote 6: Financing Sustainable Data Centres — Innovative Financial Solutions for Asia's AI Infrastructure Boom

As Asia experiences an unprecedented surge in data centre demand driven by the rapid scaling of artificial intelligence, the role of financial institutions in shaping the sustainability trajectory of this growth has never been more critical. Drawing on landmark projects such as the AirTrunk Data Centre financing, this keynote offers practical insights into structuring bankable deals that align investor returns with measurable sustainability outcomes — including PUE improvement targets, renewable energy procurement commitments, and carbon intensity reduction pathways.

Satya Ramamurthy, Chair Public Sector, SMBC

Panel Q&A: From Pilots to Scale — Overcoming Barriers to Accelerate AI Adoption in Asia's Energy Sector

This panel tackles cross-cutting barriers to AI adoption at scale: fragmented data ecosystems and lack of interoperability standards, workforce skills gaps, regulatory uncertainty, cybersecurity concerns, and the risk that AI-driven efficiencies bypass smaller players and emerging markets.

Moderator: Sandra Seah, Partner, Bird & Bird