German firm to invest in PH renewable energy

BERLIN: Leading German wind and solar farm developer wpd GmbH has committed to invest P392.4 billion in the Philippine renewable energy sector, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the pledge was made during the meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and wpd GmbH officials led by Chief Finance Officer Björn Nullmeyer in Berlin on Tuesday.

Garafil said the investment would be used in the construction of offshore wind farms in Cavite, Negros Occidental and Guimaras.

The offshore wind projects in Cavite and Negros have a combined capacity of 3,260 megawatts valued at P400 billion.

Marcos was optimistic of the modern technology that the German firm would bring to the Philippines.

“Thank you for coming in and to continue having an interest in the Philippines. I think that it is a very fertile investment, especially for your industry and business. We are, like everybody else, working very hard to move the share of energy production and fossil fuels to renewable and wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear,” Marcos told the wpd GmbH officials.

Marcos said investments in the energy sector are crucial to the administration’s industrialization thrust.

The wpd GmbH develops and operates onshore wind and solar photovoltaic projects in Europe, Asia and the American continent.

Based in Bremen, Germany, it has active business engagements in 29 countries worldwide.

The President is also looking forward to partnering with German firm Bosch in the implementation of the country’s Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

In his meeting with Vijay Ratnaparkhe, the regional president of Bosch for Southeast Asia and Bosch Singapore managing director, Marcos welcomed Bosch’s venture in Asia’s transportation sector, especially as the country transitions to cleaner technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The President welcomed Bosch’s research and development (R&D) initiatives and expressed hope that the company will bring new technology to the Philippines.

Under the government’s PUV Modernization Program, operators and drivers will be organized into cooperatives or corporations to ensure the efficiency of their operations with an upgraded fleet of low-carbon, safe and efficient PUV units.

The Bosch official said that hydrogen use is more efficient in larger vehicles than small ones.

He said Bosch is looking at the potential of participating in the reorganization of the supply chain that’s happening in Southeast Asia.

“Right now, that’s where we are concentrating on because the conversion from petrol to hydrogen is also feasible,” Ratnaparkhe told Marcos.