DoE identifies offshore RE sites
The ports will be developed to become staging areas housing the foundation, turbines, blades and other materials that will be used in building the OSW structures
Daily TribuneThe ports will be developed to become staging areas housing the foundation, turbines, blades and other materials that will be used in building the OSW structures
Energy Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol speaks to reporters at the sideline of an energy forum hosted by the Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines on Tuesday. | Photograph by Maria Romero for the Daily Tribune
The Department of Energy or DoE has identified nine potential renewable energy, or RE, sites to establish offshore wind ports that can serve as offloading terminals for a more seamless and efficient establishment of offshore wind or OSW facilities in the country.
Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of an energy forum hosted by the Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines on Tuesday, Energy Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol said these ports will be developed to become staging areas housing the foundation, turbines, blades, and other materials that will be used in building the OSW structures.
Capongcol cited Ilocos Norte, Batangas, Bacolod, Mindoro and Cagayan Valley as among the initial locations where the planned ports will be assembled.
The Asian Development Bank will assist in evaluating these sites.
"These are just initial identification and these nine ports are based on the project developments.
They are initially identified to support and advance project constructions in these areas," she said.
To further uncover the country's OSW potential, the DoE said "suitably sized and strategically located ports are essential for the storage, assembly, construction and operation of OSW farms."
Potential private sector partner
Recently, the state-run Philippine National Oil Company disclosed that it is looking for a potential partner from the private sector to convert its 19-hectare Batangas port into an OSW Power Integration Port.
It also tapped the University of the Philippines National Engineering Center to "help us because the decision not to award the contract for the commercial port expansion and shift to an offshore integration port was only last month."
The DoE has been pushing for the development of OSW to ramp up local indigenous supply amid growing demand.
Based on the Philippines OSW Roadmap launched in 2022, the country has about 178 gigawatts or GW of OSW potential.
OSW contracts awarded
To date, the DoE has awarded a total of 79 OSW Contracts with a total potential capacity of 61.931 GW, spread mainly North of Luzon, West of Metro Manila, North and South of Mindoro, Panay, and Guimaras Strait.
These, according to Capongcol, are all under the development stage, which includes preliminary wind data gathering, application for endorsements, and request for System Impact Studies.
Despite the vast supply available nationwide, the OSW roadmap showed that the tedious permitting process as well as grid assets availability should be resolved.
As such, the DoE vowed to enhance the policies on the OSW development, taking into account the streamlining and stricter timeframe outlined in the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop law on the processing and issuance of licenses and permits by the concerned national and local government entities.
