ADB OKs $400,000 assistance to Phl for offshore wind projects

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending $400,000 to the Philippines to support the development of offshore wind (OSW) ports in the country.

The multilateral lender has cleared the technical assistance to support the Philippine government’s ambition to develop wind power.

The package would be sourced from the Climate Change Fund, which seeks to help ADB developing member countries to address causes and consequences of climate change.

According to the ADB, it will be providing support to the country in the preparation of pre-feasibility study reports for OSW ports or port facilities used to support manufacturing, construction, and the operation of an OSW power project.

The multilateral lender would also help the Philippine government prepare a list of priority ports for OSW development, taking into account multiple factors such as port upgrading cost, construction time, port scalability, social and environment safeguard impact, financial sustainability, proximity of OSW sites, and grid connection access.

In addition, the ADB would assist the government in coming up with an OSW port development time-bound action plan to enable OSW build-out from 2028 onwards.

“The TA will support the key strategic pillar of ADB’s strategy 2030: tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability by accelerating low greenhouse gas emission development,” ADB said.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP), the government aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

To achieve the goal by 2030, an additional 29.5 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity is required.

The ADB sees OSW as a renewable energy technology option to substantially contribute to achieving the PEP target by 2040.

In 2022, the World Bank and the Department of Energy released the Offshore Wind Roadmap, which seeks to have OSW development started by 2028 at the earliest.

“However, the government has not paid sufficient attention to OSW port development planning which has become one of major concerns among potential investors,” the ADB said.

As such, it said there is an urgent need to start the preparations for the OSW port development plan.