Global shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. (MOL) is pushing for sustainability projects such as offshore wind (OSW) ventures in the Philippines.
The company said it has affiliates involved in the development of OSW projects.
“I think a Philippine partner may take the initiative, so we need to search for business opportunities,” Yasunori Takamatsu, MOL chief country representative for the Philippines, said during a briefing in Makati City on Thursday.
Yosuke Isihibe, MOL corporate communication director, said the company has both fixed and floating OSW projects in its portfolio.
“We started to invest in a Norwegian company which actually has actual pipelines in the North Sea. Since it is a new technology, the difficult part is to stabilize those huge offshore platforms, all floating, in one location. The key is the mooring technology in deep water,” Ishibe said.
The Tokyo-based company has acquired Modec, a Japanese firm that provides floating production service for oil offshore in deep water.
“So, by having synergies of acquisitions in Nordic and also Modec, we believe that we can provide these technologies in the future in the Philippines which we understand lies in some areas that are under deep water,” Ishibe added.
Projects under MOL’s push for sustainability include the use of ships with dual fuel which can burn either liquefied natural gas (LNG) with lower carbon emissions or conventional marine fuel oil.
The company’s Wind Hunter project also involves a cargo ship powered by both wind and hydrogen. The ship runs using sails when the wind is blowing strongly, paired with turbines in the water to spin and generate electricity and produce hydrogen.
The hydrogen is then stored in a tank which will be utilized as energy source when wind is weak.
Last month, the Department of Energy (DOE) said it is assisting 16 front-runner OSW projects with a total potential capacity of 16,652 megawatts (MW).
These projects are committed to start construction at the latest by 2027 and may be able to generate electricity by 2028, DOE said.
DOE said assistance to be provided include coordination with permitting agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and Philippine Ports Authority.
Based on the agency’s list of the 16 OSW projects, the biggest capacity is with Domhain Earth Corp.’s 3,100 MW Bulalacao OSW in Oriental Mindoro and Antique, followed by Buhawind Energy Northern Luzon Corp.’s 2,000 MW in Ilocos Norte, and Domhain Earth Corp.’s 1,830 MW Calatagan OSW in Batangas and Occidental Mindoro.
DOE said the fifth round of Green Energy Auction involving OSW projects will be pursued by third quarter of this year.
Based on latest DOE data, total installed capacity of wind projects in the country as of end-November 2024 was at 427 MW, equivalent to 1.4 percent of the country’s entire 29,697 MW of installed capacity.
The Tokyo-based MOL has the world’s second largest fleet of about 900 vessels and the largest LNG fleet.
