Further exploitation of renewable energy sources for power generation could mitigate the current rapid increase of greenhouse gas emissions in South East Asia. In this context, solar PV is a promising option as PV system costs have been declining continuously over the past. In order to define strategies towards a low-carbon future power supply, detailed information on the potential power output of solar PV is essential. Therefore, this paper analyses the resource and technical potential of solar PV in South East Asia in high temporal and spatial resolution. An empirical, climate-based Angstrom-Prescott model is proposed in order to adjust MERRA solar radiation data. The possible power output of PV is derived considering topographic and land-use constraints as well as technological characteristics of typical PV systems. Java, central Myanmar and eastern Thailand were identified to be the best locations for PV use, with capacity factors exceeding 15%. Due to the large land area which is suitable for PV installations, South East Asia offers an abundant theoretical potential of solar PV, amounting to 430 TW h with conservative assumptions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.