Madrid-based offshore wind developer BlueFloat Energy has chosen the Philippines to locate its largest wind energy project.

In a press conference in Makati City on Friday, BlueFloat Chief Executive Officer Carlos Martin said its planned offshore wind energy capacity in the Philippines is about 7.6 gigawatts (GW), which will be divided into four sites with capacities between 1.5 and 3.5 GW.

“We can expect the first of those projects to be in the execution phase and nearing completion by the end of the decade,” he said.

Martin said the company has a total of 32.4 GW of floating offshore wind projects across the globe, and the biggest capacity is eyed to be established in the Philippines.

In the Asia Pacific, BlueFloat plans to put up 6.6 GW offshore wind power each in Taiwan and Australia, and 1.9 GW in New Zealand.

In an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) at the sidelines of the event, Martin said “there’s a challenge of doubling the production capacity (in the Philippines) within this decade” given the robust growth of the economy.

“In markets like the Philippines, offshore wind can cover new demand. So the growth of the country implies that there is a big growth in the demand of power,” he said.

As one of the earliest players to look into the country’s offshore wind potentials, Martin said BlueFloat was able to select sites where there are good wind resources, no impact on environmentally-protected areas, and potential to connect to the grid, both existing and in the pipeline.

BlueFloat Energy Philippines Country Manager Raymund Pascual said the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the service contracts (SCs) for the firm’s four projects late last year.

Earlier, the DOE said it has issued 65 offshore wind energy SCs as of May 31, 2023.

Relatively, the Board of Investments said it has registered some PHP390 billion investment pledges in this sector from three projects alone in the first quarter of 2023.

Pascual said incentives from the government will encourage offshore wind developers to build integrated facilities here, which could include the port as well as manufacturing of wind turbines and other equipment for putting up an offshore wind energy infrastructure. (PNA)