Foreign investors looking into Philippines’ offshore wind potential —DOE

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday said that a number of foreign investors have signified interest in the country’s offshore wind (OSW) energy sector amid its plan to rationalize the regulatory framework for the industry.

“There have been various expressions of interest. There are various nationalities including Europeans who have expressed their interest because as you know, it's the Europeans that have had extensive experience in offshore wind and so this in particular area,” Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla said at a virtual press briefing.

“I think last time a Danish group, for example, was here and we expect another foreign company to be coming in and meeting with us in a week or so. I think we just have to wait for that new opportunity,” Lotilla said.

In particular, the Energy chief said, one of the biggest projects is in offshore Ilocos by Buhawid Energy Philippines—a joint venture of Copenhagen Energy, a Danish company, and PetroGreen Energy Corporation, a Filipino-owned company.

It has an indicative potential of 1.65 to 2.2 gigawatts (GW)n of installed capacity for the first stage.

Last week, the DOE said it is crafting an executive order “in view of huge interest” in the offshore wind potential in the country. 

The DOE is tweaking policies, framework and guidelines governing the administration of Wind Energy Service Contracts (WESC) to cover the technical, financial, operational, and administrative risks and challenges of OSW development.

“The DOE has been receiving a considerable amount of interest both from local and foreign investors in the OSW potential,” Lotilla said.

Underscoring the economic potential of OSW, Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said, during the briefing, that the cost of putting up a floating offshore wind facility could stand at $157.5 billion (about P9.04 trillion) or $5 million (about P286.98 million) GW.

To date, the DOE said it awarded 42 OSW service contracts with an indicated 31.5 GW of installed capacity.

The prime areas identified are in northern Luzon,  the Verde Island Passage, northern Mindoro, and southern Mindoro.

“A robust OSW requires a long-term vision, support infrastructure development, investments, and sound policies. Therefore, it is deemed critical to have a well thought out regulatory framework to enable successful growth of this newer technology”, Lotilla said. — BM, GMA Integrated News