The Department of Energy (DOE) said over the weekend it is helping 16 offshore wind frontrunners with total potential capacity of 16.652 gigawatts (GW), some of which could be delivered as early as 2028.
DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevara expressed optimism about the start of commercial operations of the country’s first OSW by 2028.
“You know the crucial parts are transmission and port. So our move on that is really coordinated. We work with NGCP, we also work with the local government unit in the right of way. Then at the port, we also team coordinate with PPA. The move is really coordinated because we want to succeed,” Guevara said.
DOE data showed that the biggest single OSW project being developed is the 3.1-GW Bulalacao offshore wind farm of Domhain Earth Corp. in Oriental Mindoro and Antique.
This is followed by the 2-GW North Luzon offshore wind project being built by Buhawind Energy Northern Luzon Corp. in Ilocos Norte.
Domain Earth’s 1.83-GW Calatagan offshore wind farm in Oriental Mindoro, the 1.6-GW Claveria offshore wind farm in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan and the 1.5-MW Mariveles offshore wind farm covering Bataan, Cavite and Batangas are also among the OSW front runners.
Other projects are the 600-megawatt Guimaras Strait wind project of Triconti Southward Corp. in Negros Occidental; the 600-MW Guimaras Strait II wind project of Jet Stream Windkraft Corp. in offshore Negros Occidental and Iloilo provinces; and the 450-MW Frontera Bay wind project of Ibizan Windkraft Corp. in Bataan and Cavite.
The projects also include the OSW projects of ACX 3 Capital Holdings Inc. namely the 500-MW San Miguel Bay wind project in Camarines Sur, the 475-MW Lucena wind project in Quezon province and the 275-MW Tayabas wind project in Quezon province, and the 994-MW Cavite offshore wind project of Wind Energy Corp.
Other front runners are CINF (PH) Corp.’s three OSW projects including the 350-MW Dagupan offshore wind power project in Pangasinan and La Union, Samar Norte offshore wind project in Northern Samar province and the 1,000-MW San Miguel Bay offshore wind project in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.
The DOE said among the assistance it provided to the OSW players are coordination with permitting agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and the Philippine Ports Authority.
The DOE also signed a memorandum of agreement with the DENR on access to offshore and auxiliary areas for OSW projects.