The photo is sourced from nexans.com
The future cascade of coastal WPP will be the first in Philippines: according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) by late 2021 all operational wind turbines in the country (of total installed capacity 443 megawatts) were placed in dry land. Construction of the coastal WPP will be favoured by the natural environment, considering that Philippines territory consists of more than seven thousand isles. The World Bank in April 2022 completed research, stating that Philippines until 2040 will be able to commission 21 (GW) of the coastal WPPs capacity, which will save 480 mln ton total of carbon dioxide emissions from Philippines’ energy sector (137 mln ton of CO2 in 2021, according to the Global Energy Survey BP).
Philippines plan by 2030 to cover power demand via renewable sources, however, in preceding fifteen years their role decreased: while in 2006 renewable sources of energy provided 37% of generation, then in 2021 – only 24%, according to the data from Ember. Fossil sources’ share during the same time grew from 63% to 76% including commissioning of new facilities: installed capacity of coal plants grew during the same time by 19 GW and gas-fired – by 7 GW, while increase of capacity of wind turbines and solar panels was 0.4 GW and 1.4 GW respectively. Domination of traditional power in many ways is contingent upon geographical proximity of Indonesia – the global leader in exports of steam coal, share of which is more than 95% of Philippines’ coal exports.
If project of Aboitiz Power Corporation successfully moves from feasibility study to connection to the common grid, Philippines will become number six country – operator of coastal WPP in Asia. The limitations for marine wind energy development in the region are high capital costs: in China construction unit costs of coastal wind turbines ($2800 per kilowatt power) is more than twice in comparison to analogous indicator for dry land WPP ($1260 per kilowatt power, according to the International Energy Agency).
