The government has awarded 92 offshore wind (OSW) contracts with potential capacity of 65,049 megawatts (MW) as of 25 March this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.
In a presentation, DOE assistant secretary Mylene Capongcol said that of the number, four were awarded to fully foreign-owned companies.
Capongcol said most OSW contracts were spread across Luzon, west of Metro Manila, north and south of Mindoro and at the Panay and Guimaras straits.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) had said wind power companies around the world installed a record 117,000 MW of new capacity just last year, making 2023 the best year ever for new wind energy.
“It’s great to see wind industry growth picking up, and we are proud of reaching a new annual record. However, much more needs to be done by policymakers to unlock growth, and by industry and other stakeholders to get on to the 3X pathway needed to reach net zero. Growth is highly concentrated in a few big countries like China, the US, Brazil and Germany and we need many more countries to remove barriers and improve market frameworks to scale up wind installations,” said Ben Backwell, GWEC chief executive officer, in a statement.
Separately, a study made by RMI, in partnership with the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility, indicated areas in the Philippines as viable locations for near-term offshore wind power projects or those that can be operational by 2035.
The report funded by the United States Trade and Development Agency as well as the Tara Climate Foundation, specifically identified the high-potential offshore wind development zones as located near the Manila Bay, Tayabas Bay and Guimaras Island.
According to the report, both the Manila Bay and Tayabas Bay have the potential for wind farms using fixed foundation turbines and wind energy service contract (WESC) leases of less than 300 MW.
The report said the waters surrounding Guimaras Province are suitable for offshore wind projects with fixed foundation turbines as WESCs in the area have economies of scale with 600 MW or higher capacities.
The study said the zones were chosen for high wind speeds greater than seven meters per second and proximity to major load centers in southern Luzon and western Visayas.
It added the areas were also in relatively shallow water depths of less than 50 meters that allow for fixed foundation wind turbine generator designs for the market’s first projects and access to deeper areas for floating offshore wind farms.
Bit it was noted the zones are all located near or within protected, environmentally critical, or important animal areas such as mangrove forests, protected wetlands and marine sanctuaries.
According to DOE data, the installed capacity from wind projects stands at 427 MW equivalent to 1.5 percent of the country’s overall installed capacity of 28,291 MW, excluding battery storage technologies.
