The Philippines Department of Energy’s (DOE) suspension of activities leading up to the country’s green energy auction for offshore wind, is not a setback but an “additional step toward a more investable and deliverable market”, according to wind trade associations.
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Bid submissions and the auction proper were planned for August, with announcements of winning bidders at the end of the third quarter.
“We recognise that building a new offshore wind industry requires continuous learning and adaptation, and we appreciate the DOE’s openness to engaging with industry in every step of the process,” said Belgium-headquartered trade association Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and local wind association Wind Energy Developer Association of the Philippines (WEDAP), in a joint statement shared with Eco-Business.
Energy undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella announced in a statement on 10 July that all proceedings under the fifth Green Energy Auction (GEA‑5) were suspended until further notice, citing logistical and infrastructure constraints.
He added the DOE must first review port availability and capacity against project timelines, and clarify environmental, land tenure and other regulatory requirements, including fees and compliance obligations.
But GWEC and WEDAP noted how the suspension would also strengthen the goal to “improve project bankability, and ensure that the Philippines establishes a credible long-term pipeline for offshore wind development.”
As of early this year, the country’s energy department has already awarded more than 90 offshore wind service contracts totaling around 68 to 69 gigawatts (GW), which indicates a large pipeline of potential participants under the auction.
Despite investor interest, GWEC’s Asia Pacific director Ann Margret Francisco earlier called for a de-risking facility to be made available to the winners of the green auction, or to the port investors, to bring down the capital cost.
The auction was targetting 3,300 megawatts (MW) of fixed‑bottom offshore wind for delivery between 2028 and 2030.
Fixed‑bottom projects, where turbines sit on foundations rigidly fixed to the seabed, can cost around US$3.5 to US$4 million per MW, based on a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This is two to three times more expensive per megawatt than onshore wind, reflecting more complex foundations, installation, and grid connection at sea.
Energy chief Sharon Garin also previously warned that ramping up of its offshore wind capacity would require a massive buildout of port facilities, given that there are only two main deep‑water ports across the archipelago in Manila and Subic Bay. Proper port facilities ensure the smooth transporting, installation and maintenance of offshore wind turbines or wind farms.
The coastal towns of Burgos, Bangui, Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte have been eyed by developers for building the country’s first offshore wind zone, but the infrastructure to support it has yet to be built.
Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners had been moving forward with its development of a 1 GW San Miguel Bay offshore wind project in Camarines Sur, poised to have been the most advanced candidate to become the country’s first operational offshore wind project. The planned 1 GW fixed-bottom wind farm was targeted to begin operations around 2028, and was expecting to secure offtake through the green auction.
The GEAP was kickstarted in 2022 to make the procurement of renewable energy supply in the Philippines a competitive process. It is one of the policies put in place to help the country achieve the goals set under its renewable energy plan which aims to achieve a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2040.
Last year, the DOE released a roadmap for offshore wind projects to ensure that permit bottlenecks do not stall the country’s push to realise more than 178 GW of its potential capacity.
Philippine offshore wind capacity is expected to grow from the current early-stage 67 GW pipeline toward operational capacities ranging from around 8.5 GW by 2034 and to as much as 50 GW by mid-century, according to latest estimates by GWEC.
