While investors await the near-entry of offshore wind (OSW) developments in the country, the Department of Energy (DOE) has reassured support from the Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

In an interview last week, DOE Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which is responsible for setting the green energy auction reserve (GEAR) price, has already planned ahead of time before it kicks off the fifth Green Energy Auction (GEA) program.

Although the final GEAR price—tentatively assumed at ₱14 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)—has yet to be released, Capongcol said the advantage is that “the ERC has long been preparing for the appropriate GEAR price for OSW.”

Regulators are given 30 days to finalize the rate, placing the deadline around Dec. 25. ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan earlier cautioned about a potential “Christmas rush,” noting that the issuance could slip to January.

In its bid to secure investor confidence while keeping power affordable for consumers, the ERC continues to receive support from the ADB. The Philippine-based multilateral lender has previously underscored the need for sufficient investment to redevelop the grid so it can accommodate OSW and other growing renewable energy (RE) projects.

While details remain vague, plans for port infrastructure upgrades are underway. DOE Undersecretary Giovanni Bacordo said last week that some ports would be ready to accommodate OSW projects within the next two years.

“I’m really confident that these ports will be ready... Batangas and the one in Pambujan, that these ports will be ready by the first quarter of 2027,” he said in an ambush interview, noting that the agency plans to open bids this month.

“PPA has already identified the Port of Pambujan in Mercedes, Camarines Norte, the Sta. Clara port in Batangas, and then the Port of Currimao. These are the three priority ports for OSW.”

Pambujan port development would cost around ₱4.8 billion and can be expanded from its initial 40-hectare (ha) construction to 160 ha.

“For the Port of Pambujan in Camarines Norte, there are about 11 OSW energy service contracts for one port. You see 11 developers wanting the use of the port... For the Sta. Clara port in Batangas, there are about, I estimate, 18 to 22 service contracts within 120 nautical miles,” Bacordo said.