Philippines clears three projects for first offshore wind auction
World Bank has tipped the Philippines as having bright future in offshore wind, with 178GW of potential capacity in its waters
The Philippines government has cleared three projects with a combined capacity of 1.65GW to compete in its first-ever offshore wind auction.
The Department of Energy (DoE) awarded the ‘certificates of confirmation of commerciality’ to the 450MW Frontera Bay project and the 1.2GW Guimaras Strait project, which is split into two 600MW phases.
A consortium made up of local player Triconti Windkraft Group, Liechtenstein-based offshore wind specialist Sea Wind Holdings and Switzerland’s Stream Investment Holding is developing the fixed-bottom projects.
Triconti said that these are the first three offshore wind projects in the Philippines ever to receive the certificates, which confirm the commercial viability of the projects.
The Frontera Bay project is planned in Manila Bay near the nation’s capital, while the Guimaras Strait projects are planned in the strait of the same name further south.
Writing on LinkedIn, its head of offshore wind Björn Rosenberger said the certificates represent a “big milestone for our consortium, our projects and the industry.”
The Southeast Asian nation of 7,000 islands was previously aiming to kick off its inaugural offshore wind auction by the end of this year, although local media now say the DoE is targeting 2025.