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MANILA, Philippines – A Danish firm is investing $3 billion for the 1-gigawatt (GW) San Miguel Bay offshore wind power project in Camarines Sur, targetting to deliver electricity within the term of the Marcos administration.
Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP) and its exclusive developer of offshore wind projects — Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) — are eyeing to start commercial operations of the San Miguel Bay grid by 2028.
“It has to be within the term of the administration,” said Robert Helms, partner of growth market fund at CIP, during a media briefing on Tuesday, September 10.
CIP had set a $5-billion capital expenditure for its 2GW portfolio of offshore wind projects, said Helms, while around half a billion dollars is earmarked for their 300MW portfolio of onshore wind projects. A total of $30 million is allotted for pre-development activities of the project in Camarines Sur until mid-2025.
CIP’s other offshore wind projects are slated to be built in Northern Samar and Pangasinan.
According to Przemek Lupa, associate partner at CIP, they are now working on the procurement of components, geotechnical and geophysical surveys, and environmental impact assessment.
“The construction time is expected to be around a couple of years and our goal really is to achieve, to commission the power plant within the term of the administration,” said Lupa. “We’re pushing very hard to come online within that time frame.”
Compared to other renewable energy sources like solar and onshore wind, offshore wind is relatively new to the Philippines.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 21 last year to fast-track approval process for offshore wind projects.
“Typically, where offshore wind is new to the country, we would take a lead,” said Helms.
While the project is still in its early stages, Helms said they can deliver electricity within the pricing bracket of P9 to P16 per kilowatt hour.
“Fundamentally, sustainable energy can only sort of exist on a pricing level that is competitive,” the executive said. “And even for the first project, we think that we have to work within the bracket and potentially at the lower end of it.”
The development of the first offshore wind project in the country has been preceded by optimism, as it is considered the “favorite child” among other renewable energy sources.
Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevarra said that for one, offshore wind does not hamper food security.
“It will not compete with food,” said Guevarra in Filipino during a power briefing last July.
Guevarra said that with solar farms, a hundred hectares of land are needed to produce a hundred megawatts.
“Pero yung offshore wind, ilagay mo dun sa offshore wala kang land na i-co-cover. That’s the primary reason,” she said.” (But with offshore wind, you don’t have to cover land.)
CIP inaugurated their new office in the Philippines in Bonifacio Global City on Tuesday. The event was attended by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Environment Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga, and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go. – Rappler.com
