THE government is in talks with international financial institutions to find ways to lower the cost of capital for offshore wind developers, the Department of Energy (DoE) said.
“Offshore wind is capital-intensive, and emerging markets face higher financing costs due to perceived risks like typhoons,” Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said during the APAC Wind Energy Summit 2025 in Melbourne on Tuesday.
“To address this, the Philippines is engaging with multilateral banks and exploring mechanisms to lower the cost of capital, while also considering lessons from regional peers on blended finance and risk-sharing instruments,” she added.
Despite strong momentum for offshore wind in the Asia-Pacific region, Ms. Guevara said financing is among the major bottlenecks that could slow deployment.
Other challenges she cited are regulatory and permitting process, ports and infrastructure, and transmission and grid integration.
“By tackling these bottlenecks — permitting, ports, grids, and financing — and by learning from the best practices of our neighbors, we can provide investors with certainty and accelerate offshore wind deployment across the Asia-Pacific,” Ms. Guevara said.
According to the World Bank’s 2022 Offshore Wind Roadmap, the Philippines has potential offshore wind resources equivalent to over 178 gigawatts (GW).
The DoE’s fifth round of green energy auction (GEA-5) is dedicated to offshore wind.
GEA-5 covers fixed-bottom offshore wind technology, with an installation target of 3.3 GW and deliveries targeted to commence in 2028-2030.
Ms. Guevara said the DoE is refining the auction design to provide developers with a clearer picture of the risks.
While floating offshore wind technology remains in the early stages of development, the DoE has started to explore tailored mechanisms to be ready when the resource data and technology are in place.
“By strengthening these three pillars — permitting, auction design, and infrastructure planning — we aim to give investors and developers the confidence that Philippine offshore wind projects can move smoothly from award to power delivery,” the Energy official said.
The DoE expects offshore wind to play a key role in achieving the Philippine target of increasing renewable energy’s share in the power mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
