Triconti Windkraft Group — a joint venture of Swiss investor Stream Invest Holding, German consultant ECC Energy Competence Centre and Filipino developer Triconti — will build two projects with a combined capacity of up-to-1.2GW.
It will develop the 500-600MW Aparri Bay project off Cagayan province on the Philippines’ northern island of Luzon and the 600MW Guimaras Strait project off the north-west of the central island of Negros.
Triconti has not given a timescale for the projects’ development.
“600MW Guimaras Strait Guimaras Strait (600MW) OffshorePhilippines, Asia-Pacific Click to see full details and 600MW Aparri Bay Aparri Bay (600MW) OffshorePhilippines, Asia-Pacific Click to see full details showcase excellent, consistent wind speeds and are very accessible from the foreshore in terms of grid connectivity and maintenance,” the developer’s president Lila Rosenberger said: “
Filipino potential
In a report released in October 2019, the World Bank named the Philippines as one of the most promising emerging offshore wind markets, alongside countries including Brazil, India, and Morocco.
It noted that Filipino development could benefit from synergies with the growing offshore wind sectors in nearby Taiwan and Vietnam.
The Guimaras Strait would likely be the only Filipino region suitable for fixed-bottom foundations, while the remainder of development in the Philippines would require floating substructures.
The report also found the Philippines’ major islands are well-served by a transmission grid, but the more remote locations — including Luzon to the north and the Guimaras Strait — “have very limited connectivity”.
The Philippines is largely dependent on imported diesel, oil and coal to meet its energy needs.
However, the government aims to have renewables make up half of its energy needs by 2030, including output from 2,378MW of wind power under its national renewable energy program, which was updated in 2019.
