Clearer, more coordinated pathway
“Offshore wind (OSW) development does not end at sea. This agreement gives OSW developers a clearer and more coordinated pathway for securing the onshore areas needed to support their projects,” Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said.
“By defining institutional roles and procedures, we are reducing uncertainty and helping address an important requirement in moving viable OSW projects toward construction and eventual operation,” she added.
Offshore wind farms require access to onshore and auxiliary areas for cable landing points, substations, converter stations, access roads, staging and storage areas, operations and maintenance facilities, and generation-side interconnection lines.
These facilities are essential to move electricity generated offshore into the country’s power grid and eventually to consumers.
Under the agreement, offshore wind developers will identify the sites required for their projects and submit technical, legal, environmental, mapping and other project documents to the DoE.
The DoE will verify the validity of the relevant offshore wind service contract and determine whether the proposed areas are necessary for the project. It will then formally endorse validated applications and supporting documents to PNOC.
PNOC will review the applications based on requirements under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Citizen’s Charter and other applicable rules.
Once the documentary requirements and deposited funds are deemed sufficient, PNOC will file the application with the DENR for the appropriate tenurial instrument.
The agreement also sets a timeline for part of the process, requiring PNOC to complete its evaluation of DoE-endorsed proposals within 30 working days.
Once the DENR issues the appropriate tenurial instrument, PNOC will notify the developer within five calendar days and work toward completing a project-specific use agreement within 15 calendar days.
The new framework builds on an October 2024 agreement between the DoE and DENR that established rules for the use of offshore and auxiliary areas for offshore wind developments.
It also operationalizes a 13 April DENR clarification covering the appropriate proof of authority for auxiliary and other onshore components of offshore wind projects.
Developers will still be responsible for securing other permits, approvals, and land rights, as well as paying associated project costs.
The framework will operate alongside the existing mandates of the DENR, Energy Regulatory Commission, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, National Transmission Corp., local government units, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and other agencies.
Requirements to become increasingly critical
Clearing such development requirements will become increasingly critical as the government attempts to turn the country’s sizable offshore wind resource into actual generation capacity.
