The Department of Energy (DOE) eyes a partnership between the United Kingdom (UK) and the Philippines on offshore wind (OSW) projects.
DOE led a delegation last week to UK which was hosted by the UK Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office of the British Embassy in Manila to explore the potential of pursuing OSW projects in the Philippines.
DOE undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara, head of the delegation, said an offshore wind inter-agency committee in the Philippines will facilitate OSW development in the country.
The delegation also included representatives from the Energy Regulatory Commission, National Transmission Corp., Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Maritime Industry Authority, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, Bureau of Customs, Board of Investments, Philippine Coast Guard and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
“The various agencies agreed on action items to enable the country reach its full potential in offshore wind energy,” Guevara said in a statement.
Guevara added they discovered during the visit that generation rates of electricity from OSW in the UK is at P2.8 per kilowatt hour and investments can still thrive and are viable even without the grant of premiums like the feed-in-tariff.
DOE also said the visit allowed the delegation to meet UK regulators and industry stakeholders for knowledge sharing of best practices, regulatory framework and industry development and opened-up potential opportunities for UK-Philippines collaboration in offshore wind.
DOE added technical discussions on significant stages in an offshore wind project lifecycle were covered while UK companies also gathered for a roundtable discussion on the lessons learned and experience in support of the Philippine government’s goal to successfully develop a competitive OSW industry from concept to implementation.
Ashley Ibbett, director general for energy infrastructure in the newly formed UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, said they will share experiences as well as provide technical assistance to the DOE on marine spatial planning, licensing and permitting which will be delivered under the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership.
To date, the DOE has awarded 55 OSW service contracts with an aggregate capacity of 40.68 gigawatts.
