DOE, WB to unveil offshore wind dev't roadmap
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the World Bank Group will jointly unveil on Wednesday, April 20, a market study that will cement the roadmap for the targeted 178megawatts of offshore wind farm developments in the country.
The new study will serve as a follow-through to the previous comprehensive studies that initially assessed the more than 170MW potential that the Philippines could yield on wind installations.
In a statement to the media, the energy department noted that the new roadmap is one of a series of offshore wind roadmap studies in emerging markets commissioned by the World Bank Group. The study is under the joint Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) of the International Finance Corporation’s offshore wind development program.
For the slated study presentation, the DOE indicated that this “will bring together international and domestic stakeholders from the public as well as the private sectors, to discuss way forward in developing a robust offshore wind industry in the Philippines.”
The department added that the event will pave the way for “dialogues on the technical, economic, environmental, social employment and financing aspects of establishing an offshore wind market in the country.”
Apart from the presentation of the wind roadmap, the study's launch will likewise “tackle recommendations on policy and regulatory frameworks,” as well as in casting the long-term visions for the industry.
There would also be spatial planning, grid development and integration and evaluation of the financial and commercial risks of sponsoring or spearheading wind farm projects in the Philippines.
Offshore wind, in particular, is just a new project development terrain that players in the Philippine energy sector have been delving into. The trailblazer in this technology is Filipino firm Triconti ECC Renewables Corporation, which had recently cornered Spanish energy giant Iberdrola as its joint venture partner.
In December last year, the DOE and the World Bank Group had requested industry stakeholders to provide inputs that they can integrate into the Offshore Wind Roadmap study. The study will serve as guidepost for investors who will be interested injecting capital on this particular RE technology.
Among the early feedbacks from interested investors are hurdles on permitting, including the tricky process of securing consent from indigenous peoples straddling prospective project sites; grid connection setbacks as well as the need for faster implementation of policies – primarily that of the green energy auction program (GEAP) of the government.
The outcome of the study, as stated by the energy department, shall also be consolidated into the updated Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) that highly favors renewable energy ventures because they will usher in the country into its envisioned energy transition paradigm.