A FEW days ago, amid climate change’s threats, I made a presentation on the future of offshore wind projects in the Philippines at the 2nd Offshore Wind Asia Expo and Conference 2025 at SMX Convention Center Manila.
As a country ranked among the most vulnerable nations to climate impacts, our destiny hinges on embracing innovative, science-backed solutions that bolster resilience, ensure energy security and foster sustainable development.
The Philippines is no stranger to climate adversity. Our geography, an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, makes us exceptionally susceptible to climate change’s worst consequences. The past decade has witnessed an alarming rise in the frequency and intensity of typhoons with stronger winds and heavier rainfall, devastating coastal communities, destroying livelihoods and displacing millions.
(From left) The author; Emiel Cornelis, regional manager, Jan De Nul Group; Leo Keng Cheng head of Sales-Southeast Asia, Nanoprecise Sci Corp.; and Carlos Mendoza, consultant, Jumbo Consulting Group. PHOTO BY LUDWIG FEDERIGAN
Rising sea levels threaten to swallow entire towns, particularly low-lying island communities, leaving families at risk of losing their homes and ways of life.
The National Adaptation Plan indicates that the Philippines, ranking first globally in the World Risk Index from 2022-2024, faces a future where climate shocks could exacerbate poverty, threaten food and water security, and strain our economy. In 2024 alone, the country faced losses totaling P673.3 billion from typhoons and disasters — an immense economic burden that hampers our development and resilience efforts.
Yet, amid these challenges, the Philippines has demonstrated remarkable progress in the transition to renewable energy (RE). Our country’s Renewable Energy Act of 2008 laid the groundwork for innovative policies like the Green Energy Auction Program and the Renewable Portfolio Standards, helping to lower costs and attract investments in solar, wind, hydro and bioenergy.
BloombergNEF’s 2024 Climatescope Report ranks the Philippines as the second most attractive emerging market for clean power investments in the Asia-Pacific region. All this underscores our nation’s unwavering commitment to decarbonization and sustainable growth. Based on the Department of Energy’s data, offshore wind potential capacity is 69.3 gigawatts.
A game changer
By 2030, our goal is that 35 percent of our power generation will come from renewable sources. We aim to push this further to 50 percent by 2040. These targets are bold but crucial steps in aligning ourselves with the global climate agenda, ensuring our country’s energy independence and safeguarding our environment for future generations.
Amid this landscape of ambition, offshore wind energy emerges as a game changer that the Philippines must harness to meet our climate and energy goals. Offshore wind farms generate power by capturing the kinetic energy of the wind over water: vast, largely untapped and sustainable resources along our extensive coastline. Unlike land-based wind projects, offshore wind farms do not compete for space with agriculture or urban development, making them an ideal solution for our dense coastal areas.
Science demonstrates the potential. The Philippines benefits from wind speeds exceeding 8 meters per second along many coastlines, especially in the northern and central regions such as Camarines Norte and Sur, where the San Miguel Offshore Wind Project is set to generate 1 gigawatt of clean energy with an investment of approximately P170 billion. This project, under the leadership of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, will be the country’s first fully offshore wind farm, paving the way for regional leadership in ocean-based RE.
Offshore wind projects hold immense socioeconomic potential. They can provide reliable power to remote islands, reducing dependence on imported, expensive and polluting fossil fuels. They can generate employment, stimulate local economies and promote energy equity across our archipelago.
Offshore wind acts as a climate-resilient infrastructure. Less vulnerable to floods, typhoons or saltwater intrusion, they ensure a dependable, clean energy supply that supports our broader disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation strategies. By integrating offshore wind into our national grid, the Philippines can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance our commitments under the Paris Agreement and bolster climate resilience in vulnerable communities.
The future of offshore wind projects in the Philippines hinges on strategic planning, supportive policies and international collaboration. Infrastructure investments, innovative financing schemes and robust ecological assessments are necessary to scale these projects rapidly and responsibly.
Regional collaboration, especially with neighboring countries with similar coastal profiles, can unlock shared opportunities. Partnerships with global leaders like Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom on offshore wind technology and financing can accelerate our capacity-building and project implementation.
The author is the founder and chief strategic advisor of the Young Environmental Forum and a subject-matter expert at the Co-operative College of the Philippines. He completed a climate change and development course at the University of East Anglia (UK) and an executive program on sustainability leadership at Yale University (USA). You can email him at [email protected].
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