The Philippines has taken first steps into the offshore wind power sector with plans to develop 1.2 GW, according to an international consortium that said it has been given the go-ahead to advance wind farm projects there.

Triconti ECC, an alliance between Swiss, German and local players, claimed the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) gave it “exclusive rights to studying and developing” two wind turbines projects, Aparri Bay in the north of the country and Guimaras Strait in central Philippines.

“Guimaras Strait and Aparri Bay showcase excellent, consistent wind speeds and are very accessible from the foreshore in terms of grid connectivity and maintenance,” said Triconti ECC.

No further details were given about the wind farm projects, the government concessions or a potential timescale.

The joint venture is already advancing 500 MW of onshore wind power projects and plans to bring the first wind farm online by 2022.

The Philippines – which has a population of more than 100 million, and currently leans heavily on fossil fuels for its energy supplies – was last year named by the World Bank as one of a group of emerging economies where offshore wind energy could be crucial to helping meet rapidly growing power demand.

If the projects do advance, it would join a fast-growing Asian and Asia-Pacific offshore wind energy market that already includes China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia and India.

That trend has already seen the balance of offshore wind activity tilt from Europe to Asia, with total investment running at almost double in the latter last year.

Source: https://www.evwind.es/2020/03/30/philippines-makes-move-into-offshore-wind-energy/74224