$157 billion offshore wind projects in the pipeline – DOE

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to enhance the policies and guidelines governing offshore wind developments with over $157 billion worth of such projects in the country’s pipeline.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla yesterday said  the agency is undertaking the review to ensure the efficient and optimal development of offshore wind projects.

“The department is engaged in review on the policies and guidelines of offshore wind projects. And this include the existing policies framework and guidelines governing the administration of the wind energy service contracts for offshore wind development,” he said.

Lotilla said the refinements to the existing policies, framework, and guidelines governing the administration of wind energy service contracts cover the technical, financial, operational, and administrative risks and challenges of offshore wind development.

However, he said existing offshore wind service contractors are still bound to comply with their obligations under their contracts.

As such, he said they  would have to continue to work on their commitments based on their approved work programs.

“A robust offshore wind 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,” he said.

Lotilla said the DOE has been receiving considerable amount of interest both from local and foreign investors in the potential of offshore wind.

The agency to date has awarded 42 offshore wind service contracts with an indicated 31.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity.

The prime areas identified are in Northern Luzon, Verde Island Passage, Northern Mindoro, and Southern Mindoro.

One of the biggest projects is in offshore Ilocos by Buhawid Energy Philippines, a joint venture of Danish firm Copenhagen Energy and PetroGreen Energy Corp.

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

The DOE said the current rule of thumb for offshore wind project investment is about $5 million per megawatt (MW).

“Of course, it is expected that eventually, with more deployment, this price will come down. That’s how it works for all of these renewable technologies,” DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said.