Danish fund to invest in 3 offshore wind projects

-Copenhagen Infrastructure New Markets Fund (CINMF), an affiliate of Danish fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), is undertaking $5 billion (P271.95 billion) worth of offshore wind projects in the Philippines, making it the country's first 100-percent foreign-owned offshore wind development.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and CINMF on Thursday signed three offshore wind service contracts with a period of 25 years each.

The projects have a combined capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW) to be developed in the following provinces: Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur (1,000 MW), Northern Samar (650 MW), and Pangasinan and La Union (350 MW).

CINMF associate partner Przemek Lupa said the investment for these projects is approximately $5 billion.

'We'd like to minimize that to bring the best electricity costs for the projects,' he said during the ceremonial signing event held in Taguig City.

'This is marking officially our entry in the country but we've been looking at it for some time and we'll start rolling,' added Lupa.

The project timeline will depend on when and how the Danish entity will be able to secure the necessary permits and regulatory approvals.

Lupa added, 'we will seek a lot of help from the DOE acting as one-stop shop. It will depend a lot on the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and many other stakeholders.'

CINMF is aiming to complete the offshore wind facilities within the term of the Marcos administration.

'If we can look at achieving commercial operations date by 2028, which means starting construction a couple of years earlier,' he said. 'That is the goal.'

The three offshore wind projects are expected to create around 4,500 jobs during the development and operations period, generate enough power to supply about 1 million households and offset about 2.9 million tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions per year.

'These agreements represent an additional strategic investment and a firm commitment to strengthen the renewable energy sector in the country. They provide a significant contribution towards a low carbon future as well as encourage the development of the local supply chain,' said Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.

This development came at a time when the government lifted foreign ownership restrictions on developing renewable energy projects in 2022.

The removal of foreign restrictions in the ownership of renewable energy projects last year sent 'positive signals' to attract more investments in this space, CIP partner Niels Holst was quoted as saying.

'We believe the Philippines holds great potential for low-cost power delivery from high-quality renewable energy projects that would deliver local employment and skills,' said Holst, also the head of CINMF.

CIP manages 10 funds focusing on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar photovoltaic, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy and Power-to-X.

It has a portfolio of green energy projects totaling more than 100 gigawatts and has raised approximately 19 billion euros (P1.12 trillion) for energy and associated infrastructure investments from more than 140 international institutional investors.