(Photo: iStock)
The province of Camarines Sur in the Philippines is actively developing offshore wind power. Recently, the Philippine government approved the construction of 16 offshore wind farms, with an estimated potential capacity of 7,668 MW. LRay Villafuerte, president and representative of National Unity Party (NUP) stated that these offshore wind projects will drive the development of renewable energy in the Philippines and help achieve decarbonization goals.
CIP leads major wind project
Camarines Sur is in the southeastern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Among 16 approved projects, the one built in San Miguel Bay with an installed capacity of 1 GW is going to be the first and largest offshore wind farm in the country. The project is developed by the local subsidiary of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), is expected to involve an investment of PHP 163 billion (about USD 2.77 billion) and is anticipated to be completed by 2028.
To expedite the development of renewable energy, the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) has granted CIP's subsidiary a "Green Lane" certificate, to simplify the processing procedures, aiding the Philippines in its transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
CIP will position Light Detection and Ranging Devices (LIDARs) in its planned project sites in Camarines Sur. (Photo: Power Philippines)
GEAP to boost developer confidence
According to the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP), the goal is to achieve 35% renewable energy usage by 2030 and 50% by 2040. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) revealed latest report "Global Offshore Wind Report 2024" in June, highlighted that the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has approved 63 GW of offshore wind power applications, underscores the critical role of offshore wind power in economic decarbonization and reducing dependency on energy products imports.
The industry is also optimistic about the DOE's first round of the "Green Energy Auction Program" (GEAP) for offshore wind power by the second quarter of 2025. The GEAP aims to establish a market environment where power plants and electricity consumers can directly trade renewable energy. Through this auction, consumers can opt for renewable energy sources, and power plants can bid for the right to supply power and receive incentive tariffs.
The market believes that this green auction mechanism will hopefully set clear capacity targets and price expectations for the medium- to long-term horizons of offshore wind power projects, thereby boosting the confidence of developers and financial institutions in pursuing these projects.
