The newly-formed Pilipinas Offshore Wind Energy Resource Inc. (POWER) asked the government to consider taking a stake in the country’s first offshore wind (OSW) project.
“In Malampaya, historically PNOC EC [PNOC Exploration Corp.] has a 10-percent stake. Offshore wind is a big project, so the government may want to take a stake because it’s a landmark project and it’s huge in scale. So maybe, the government might want to be part of that first offshore wind project,” POWER legal counsel Jay Layug said.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the proposal “depends on the availability of government financing.”
He said there are other ways where government could assist the industry, instead of taking a stake in the OSW project.
“For example, in terms of the rights to use the submarine, the sea floor or in the case offshore areas, there needs to be a transmission operator for off grid… In other words, where government can facilitate, we should be open in considering facilitating,” Lotilla said.
POWER is composed of ACEN Corp. (ACEN), The Blue Circle (TBC), BlueFloat Energy (BlueFloat), Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (Citicore), Ignis ZA Global (gnis) and Marubeni Asian Power Philippines Corp. (Marubeni).
POWER members account for 15,000 to 20,000 MW of the 63,359 MW OSW contracts issued by the Department of Energy.
The DOE awarded a total of 82 OSW projects north of Luzon, west of Metro Manila, north and south of Mindoro, Panay and the Guimaras Strait.
All these are in the pre-development stage, where assessments on resources, site suitability and project viability are being undertaken.