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COP30: China’s Green Energy Power Play — How a Laos Wind Farm Reveals Its Global Strategy

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In the remote hills of Dak Cheung, southeastern Laos, a vast new wind power project is quietly reshaping both the region’s energy landscape and the global balance of power.

The Monsoon Wind Power Project, the largest in Southeast Asia, features 133 towering turbines stretching across an area twice the size of the Isle of Wight. It promises to deliver electricity to around one million households in neighboring Vietnam, marking a remarkable feat of engineering in one of Asia’s poorest regions.

Yet, while the site is led by a Thai consortium, its backbone is unmistakably Chinese — built by a state-owned Chinese company, using Chinese technology, and completed at record speed and low cost.

“It makes the project viable,” said Narut Boakajorn, the site’s general manager. “Otherwise, financing would not have been possible.”

This wind farm is a microcosm of China’s global dominance in green energy. The country now produces over 60% of the world’s mass-manufactured green technologies, including 80% of solar panels and 75% of electric vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency. Analysts estimate Chinese clean energy exports in 2024 alone could cut global carbon emissions by 1%.

But Beijing’s motivations go beyond climate stewardship. As China simultaneously builds coal plants and renewable infrastructure, its rapid green expansion looks more like a strategic bet on the future of global energy markets — and influence.

Developing nations like Laos, often enticed by low-cost technology and financing, have become the front line of this new form of soft power. While Laos’ wind project avoided the debt traps seen elsewhere, the country has already ceded control of most of its power grid to a Chinese firm amid financial struggles.

The symbolism is striking: in the same mountains once bombed by the U.S. during the Vietnam War, China is now building turbines — a new kind of influence rising from the ashes of an old one.

Renewables stocks surge as investor inflows return and power demand outlook brightens

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After two years in decline, renewable energy stocks are staging a strong comeback, driven by renewed investor inflows and a powerful shift in global electricity demand. The sector has posted its best quarterly performance since 2020, as confidence returns amid clearer U.S. policy direction and soaring energy needs from AI data centers and electrification.

Data from Lipper shows alternative energy funds attracted nearly $800 million in September, their biggest monthly inflow since April 2022, while Morningstar reports fund outflows have dropped to their lowest in over a year. The MSCI Global Alternative Energy Index rose 17% in the third quarter, doubling the broader market’s gains.

BlackRock’s Alastair Bishop said valuations had become so depressed that even negative policy news turned into a “positive catalyst,” helping investors refocus on fundamentals. Similarly, Robeco’s Roman Boner said inflows into the firm’s clean-energy strategies have resumed.

The rally has been powered by Big Tech’s AI-fueled data center boom, accelerating electrification of transport and industry, and upgrades to grid infrastructure. U.S. power consumption, flat for a decade, is now expected to surge, with solar-plus-storage emerging as the fastest way to meet demand. “Every electron counts,” Boner said.

Private equity is also reentering the space, with Global Infrastructure Partners reportedly in talks to acquire AES Corp. Analysts say renewable stocks still trade at a 40% discount to global equities, leaving room for upside as earnings momentum builds.

Despite risks from higher interest rates and political shifts, managers believe the rally could persist as short positions unwind and clean-energy earnings recover.

Chevron expands Bengaluru innovation hub to drive digital and AI transformation

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Chevron has expanded its Engineering and Innovation Excellence Center (ENGINE) in Bengaluru, opening a new 312,000-square-foot facility to boost its digital and AI capabilities. The move marks a major step in the U.S. energy giant’s global effort to streamline operations and leverage India’s deep technology talent pool.

The expansion comes a year after the launch of ENGINE, which consolidates Chevron’s global technical work and supports its target of up to $3 billion in cost savings by 2026. “We were a very decentralized organization until recently,” said Akshay Sahni, Chevron’s India country head. “We use AI to improve machine performance and drilling efficiency—it’s about smarter operations, not just cost cuts.”

Chevron’s focus on Bengaluru reflects the growing importance of India’s STEM and IT ecosystem in the energy transition. The center employs more than 1,000 professionals across disciplines such as mechanical, civil, and petroleum engineering, and plans to invest around $1 billion over the next few years in technology, infrastructure, and workforce development.

The facility features high-performance computing systems for real-time geological modeling and digital twins—virtual replicas of Chevron’s plants that enhance monitoring and maintenance.

Despite global workforce reductions of up to 20%, Chevron emphasized that its India operations are about innovation and future growth. “For now, our focus is on expanding Bengaluru and upskilling our people as technology evolves,” Sahni said.