Danish firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) is pumped up to pursue its $3-billion investment in the local market after it bagged the first predevelopment environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for any offshore wind farm in the Philippines.
According to the Danish Embassy, CIP was the first developer to receive such a certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for its 1-gigawatt San Miguel Bay offshore wind development in Camarines Sur. With the ECC, the group can conduct offshore geotechnical works and geophysical surveys, which it noted were “crucial” in designing the proposed wind project.
Critical step
The government has set ECC as one of the requirements in pursuing clean energy developments in the country to ensure that such projects adhere to environmental rules and follow global industry standards.
“We are very pleased to announce the issuance of the ECC for our predevelopment activities. With this in place, we have initiated offshore site surveying, a critical step in advancing the project’s development,” said Rune Damgaard, Offshore Wind co-chief executive of Copenhagen Offshore Partners, CIP’s investment vehicle in the Philippines.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla welcomed this, saying CIP’s works could “jump-start the growth of offshore wind in the country and contribute to achieving the Philippines’ long-term energy security objectives.”
The San Miguel Bay offshore wind project has also been certified a project with “national significance” by the government, allowing the company to enjoy faster permitting processes.
With this status, CIP would not have to face bureaucratic red tape as the project would be prioritized for permit approval, with the timeline usually cut down to 30 days.
CIP likewise said this was vital to ensure the massive project would not suffer from transmission woes, as the status could “expedite the development and construction of the grid infrastructure with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.”
“Working closely together, CIP, the government and international partners will continue to help streamline the necessary approvals and certificates that will allow this and other critical wind power projects to go online, in-time,” Danish Ambassador Franz-Michael Mellbin said. —Lisbet K. Esmael