Aboitiz Power watches regulatory developments on offshore wind projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores – April 25, 2023, 7:05 pm
from manilastandard.net

Aboitiz Power Corp. said it is keenly watching the regulatory developments from the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission before proceeding with any offshore wind project.

Aboitiz Power president Emmanuel Rubio said there are still questions on the levelized cost of energy for offshore wind.

“We have yet to see the numbers from DOE and the volume that DOE is allocating for offshore wind and of course the pricing for the GEAP [green energy auction program] for offshore wind,” Rubio said.

He said developing offshore wind projects is still expensive for the Philippines, “given the resource and the available sites for offshore wind.”

“Eventually, as technology becomes more competitive, offshore wind is really going to be a viable option with a higher capacity factor than onshore wind,” Rubio said.

He said the company is developing the 90-megawatt onshore Libmanan wind project in Camarines Sur.

“This will be the first project of a long-term greenfield program that we have in AP,” he said.

Aboitiz Power, through subsidiary Aboitiz Renewables Inc., signed a joint venture agreement with global renewable energy company Mainstream Renewable Power last year to build the Libmanan wind project.

Aboitiz Power is one of the pioneers of RE in the country and is pursuing to grow its renewable portfolio to 4,600 MW by the end of the decade.

“The Libmanan onshore wind project with Mainstream, along with future endeavors in the pipeline, will  help bring us to our goal,” Rubio said.