September 1, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — No less than three ports in Luzon shall be transformed into offshore wind terminals earlier than the tip of the Marcos administration in 2028 at a projected value of P47 billion, the Philippine Ports Authority stated.
The PPA will bid out this 12 months the primary of two phases to make the Port of Mercedes in Camarines Norte an offshore wind web site, with the aim of finishing it by 2026.
PPA common supervisor Jay Santiago stated every of the 2 phases would require about P2.4 billion, with the company paying for it by itself.
“We intend to bid that out earlier than the tip of the 12 months, in order that we will beat the end-2026 deadline for the primary part. The DOE (Division of Vitality) may have sufficient time to generate the primary kilowatt by the primary quarter of 2028,” Santiago instructed The STAR.
Furthermore, the PPA is firming up the P14-billion port administration terminal contract (PTMC) to develop a 27-hectare property within the Port of Batangas into an offshore wind farm. The undertaking is located beside the Batangas Container Terminal.
Nevertheless, Santiago remains to be weighing choices on methods to repurpose the Port of Currimao in Ilocos Norte, as preliminary estimates from consultants confirmed it will require as much as P28 billion.
The state-run PPA stated it might discover it tough to supply such an quantity, and there are additionally doubts if the non-public sector is concerned about taking up the associated fee.
“Based mostly on preliminary discussions, Currimao might require a growth value of P28 billion. We’re nonetheless pondering if it will be achieved by procurement or PTMC. If procurement, the PPA can not fund that, and if PTMC, I don’t know if there are takers,” Santiago stated.
The PPA has additionally scrapped the plan to remodel 10 ports into offshore wind terminals. Santiago stated some are simply too expensive to repurpose, particularly as inserting wind generators on the ocean requires particular gear.
Ports handle weight exertion by limiting the variety of ships on piers. Offshore wind terminals are incapable of doing this, as generators should be introduced in as a complete.
Had the PPA pursued the redevelopment of all 10 ports, they might put out a mixed capability of 6.72 gigawatts, based mostly on estimates from the DOE.
“We’ve to ensure that the terminals, which is able to service the offshore wind gear, have the capability to deal with, or else they threat ending up in overcapacity,” Santiago stated.
Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon identified the urgency of changing some ports, notably the inactive ones, into offshore wind websites to scale up the nation’s power provide.
Ridon, founding father of Infrawatch PH, stated the Port of Mercedes was recognized as a non-functioning asset, making it simple for the PPA to pick it as a doable web site. Bicol additionally operates larger ports, that are greater than sufficient to help the area’s logistics demand.
Despite this, Ridon hopes the PPA can give you a income mechanism to earn from ports transformed into offshore wind farms. This ensures that the PPA would maintain income flows, because it contributes among the highest dividends to the federal government yearly.
“It’s nonetheless vital for the PPA to have the ability to cost port utilization charges from the wind farm operators, which we expect should be far larger than income from typical port operations,” Ridon instructed The STAR.
In June, the DOE launched the fifth inexperienced power public sale for as much as 3,300 megawatts, focusing this time on offshore wind, to be delivered between 2028 and 2030.
The DOE, with assist from the PPA, is working to generate the primary kilowatt-hours from offshore wind earlier than the tip of the Marcos administration in 2028.
