Iberdrola has agreed to co-develop 3.5GW of offshore wind in the Philippines with Swiss renewables firm Stream Invest Holding and Filipino wind developer Triconti ECC.
It has signed an option agreement for the five projects, whereby Iberdrola could enter the projects if certain conditions are met. The Spanish company has not disclosed what these conditions are.
The developers have secured the rights to use the project sites for offshore wind development, but would still need to carry out surveys and secure permitting approval for the wind farms before they can begin construction.
All of the projects are off the Philippines’ northern and central islands.
They would use fixed-bottom foundations, an Iberdrola spokesman told Windpower Monthly.
However, it is too early to say when the projects might be commissioned, what capity individual sites will be, and whether each company would take an equal stake in the wind farms.
It is also not yet clear how the wind farms will generate revenue — whether through corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) or a feed-in tariff. “Specific regulation for offshore wind is currently being developed in the Philippines, so adding this fact with the current development stage of the projects, is too early to decide on our route-to-market”, an Iberdrola spokesman advised.
All of the projects are in early stages of development and have secured a wind energy service contract from the Philippines’ energy department. These contracts grant the developers long-term rights to use the site for the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects. The 25-year contracts, which can be extended, consist of a five-year pre-development stage and a development and commercial stage for the remainder.
