COPENHAGEN – Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla told prospective global investors eyeing the Philippine offshore wind industry that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will soon be issuing the "regulatory framework" for the approval of environmental clearance for offshore wind (OSW) projects.

At the recently concluded WindEurope 2023 conference, he apprised investors that the DENR guidance for the pre-development stage for the targeted installations, “will identify the specific environmental clearances/permits and tenurial instrument needed in the development of OSW projects.”

The energy chief added that the DENR framework “will provide GIS (geographic information system) data of protected areas, key biodiversity areas, no build up zones and other relevant GIS information that may or may not have conflict with offshore wind development.”

GIS is a system which is typically done digitally and it is used for capturing, storing, analyzing and presenting geospatial data – and these can aid prospective project developers in the planning and management of protected areas; as well as in identifying and prioritizing areas that shall be set for conservation.

Lotilla assured investors that the DOE is closely working with the DENR and other agencies to facilitate OSW projects.

The energy secretary indicated that the DENR “has been working on a regulatory framework for the environmental clearance for OSW Projects, taking into account international sustainable development principles and good practices.”

In a meeting with the Philippine delegation, Danish consulting firm Niras, which has been extending consultancy services to OSW developers in various parts of the world, emphasized that the environmental baseline investigations typically done for offshore wind projects include marine mammals, fish, fisheries and fish populations, benthic fauna and flora, birds, bats, underwater noise, radar and radio interference as well as maritime traffic.

As advised by global experts, one guaranteed way of ensuring that offshore wind farm projects are developed and operated in environmentally sustainable manner is to require the conduct of comprehensive environmental impact assessment; and for the project-sponsors to incorporate mitigation strategies into the design as well as operation of the OSW installations.

Throughout the life cycle operation of offshore wind projects, one of the hot topics currently debated globally also is the disposal as well as proposed recycling of wind turbines and its components.

According to the State of Green in Denmark, at current phase, “it is only possible to recycle 85-percent of a wind turbine when ageing offshore wind farms are being decommissioned,” hence, that is seen to be still impeding fully circular solution loop.

As specified “the blade is the central hurdle because dissolving the resin used to fuse the different elements of the blade together has not yet been possible.”

Experts noted that while offshore wind farms are touted as viable green solution for energy markets, it is also highly recommended that environment regulators would prudently assess the other environmental impacts – primarily those on marine ecosystems, as well as wildlife and their habitats.

It has been conveyed that certain underwater noise could disrupt the natural behavior or could cause physical harm on some marine mammals, hence, industry experts are already seriously pursuing research and development (R&D) that will mitigate such impacts, primarily in coming up with noise-reducing turbine designs.