The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has committed the repurposing of at least three initial ports that will support the development of billion dollars-worth of offshore wind projects that the Marcos administration has been pushing for completion by 2028, according to the Department of Energy.

“PPA has already agreed in principle – they committed at least three ports, and they’re just waiting for a letter from the DOE on that, but we already have discussions with them,” Energy Undersecretary Sharon S. Garin said.

She qualified that the initial ports assented to by the PPA for redevelopment to cater to the offshore wind industry would include those in Currimao, Ilocos Norte; the energy supply base (ESB) port of state-run Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and another one that is still up for consideration by the relevant government agencies.

Garin noted “we are confident that the ports will be repurposed within the timelines expected by the offshore wind farm developers.”

The energy department previously indicated that the budget for the repurposing of the Currimao and Batangas ports has already been proposed to be included in the General Appropriations Act or the national budget for 2025.

The tricky part of discussion among relevant government agencies had been the timeline on completing the ports repurposing, as the PPA is reportedly eyeing a different timeframe of 2030 which will go beyond the commercial operations target of the frontrunner offshore wind projects.

In a study carried out by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the DOE, at least 10 ports all over the country have been identified as support facilities to various offshore wind facilities that have been proposed for development across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids.

The Currimao port in Ilocos Norte, in particular, could serve the 2,000MW Buhawind project of the joint venture of Danish firm Copenhagen Energy A/S and Yuchengco-led PetroGreen Energy Corporation, which is also eyeing to inject the first megawatts of generated capacity from its offshore wind installation by 2028; while the Batangas port could be used by array of projects being developed within the area.

In offshore wind farm developments, there is a need to allot specific parts in the ports that will solely cater to the logistical needs, construction and assembly of components; as well as operation & maintenance for the projects.

Apart from repurposing the ports, the PPA will also decide on the rate to be levied on the use or lease of the port facilities by the offshore wind developers – be it for the quayside, laydown areas or the pre-assembly sites or what are referred to as ‘staging and installation areas’ that will be required by the OSW sponsor-firms.

Typically, offshore wind ventures would require ports that can handle oversized and overweight equipment – including blades that have lengths exceeding 100 meters; hence, these will need deep draft berths and can also cater to heavy-lift cranes as well as specialized ships that can carry components across miles offshore.