President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has given the Department of Energy (DOE) the greenlight for its plan to explore and develop the country's offshore wind (OSW) potential as a source of clean and sustainable energy.
Marcos ordered DOE Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla to push through with the plan during a meeting at Malacañang Palace on Wednesday, Nov. 9, before he left the country for Cambodia.
The President also said that the DOE should handle the regulatory functions to streamline coordination and simplify the approval process.
"It should be the Department of Energy who should be talking with the OSW developers, in consultation with the council, of course. It has to be led by the DOE," Marcos said.
According to Malacañang, the DOE officials also proposed the creation of an Offshore Wind Development and Investment Council, composed of relevant government agencies that will serve as a one-stop shop for OSW developers.
The DOE said there are currently 42 approved offshore wind contracts with an indicated capacity of 31,000 Megawatts (MW).
It noted a strong interest from the private sector, especially from countries considered leaders in offshore wind technology such as Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
Based on the World Bank's OSW Roadmap, the Philippines has the capacity to deploy 40 Gigawatts of OSW electricity by 2050.
“This is more than enough to cover the 500,000 MW projected peak demand the country will require by 2040 based on DOE's medium to long-term power outlook,” Lotilla told the President.
Marcos declared during his inaugural State of the Nation Address (SONA) that government would prioritize clean energy and would tap natural gas and nuclear power to meet the Philippines' energy demands under his term.