PPPs eyed for offshore wind farms in ports

MANILA, Philippines — The government may consider public-private partnerships (PPPs) in its plan to transform ports into offshore wind projects, as it could take as much as $80 million to redevelop each one of them.

Transportation Undersecretary Elmer Sarmiento told reporters that the government is evaluating options on how to proceed with the proposal to integrate offshore wind farms in some ports.

“We are still studying [that plan] because it is costly to do an offshore port. There is an estimate for one project, $80 million. Where do we recover the investments for that?” Sarmiento said.

As such, the Department of Energy (DOE) is assessing the viability of taking a PPP approach in the redevelopment of ports. Sarmiento said the last thing the government wants is for consumers to bear the cost of the project.

There are nine ports that the DOE is considering to transform into offshore wind projects. These ports include the PNOC-Energy Supply Base in Mabini, Batangas; Port Irene in Cagayan; Iloilo Commercial Port Complex in Iloilo; Port of Subic in Zambales; and Pulupandan Port in Bacolod.

The list also covers the Port of Currimao in Ilocos Norte; Bauan Port in Batangas; Calabanga Provincial Port in Camarines Sur; and Port of Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro.

In 2023, the DOE, with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), identified these ports for their potential to host offshore wind farms.

As part of the grant from ADB, the DOE will review how ready the ports are in accommodating offshore wind projects as part of efforts to expand the country’s energy sources.

The DOE, however, stated that no port in its present state is fit to meet the standards for offshore wind farms. As such, the study seeks to identify what upgrade a port would need to comply with the requirements.

On top of this, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is completing a study on its own for the development of ports across the archipelago. Eventually, the DOTr is planning to come up with a roadmap detailing the areas where ports should be put up.

The DOTr is asking for at least P12.5 billion to build within the Marcos administration 200 more ports in isolated islands to improve inter-island travel and trim logistics costs.

“Right now, we are doing the freight flow analysis that will lead eventually to a roadmap of port development all over the Philippines,” Sarmiento said.