The Philippine Department of Finance and the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partnership of Denmark recently held a high-level coordination meeting, with the core agenda revolving around the advancement of the San Miguel Bay offshore wind power project in South Carolina. This project, with a total installed capacity of 901 megawatts and a total investment of approximately 3 billion US dollars, is the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the Philippines and even Southeast Asia, and has a significant symbolic significance for the local energy transformation.

Representatives from both sides attended the meeting, covering multiple areas such as finance, energy development, and project operation. They discussed practical issues such as project development milestones, financing paths, and preparations for the fifth round of green energy auctions one by one. CIP has clarified the financing plan in collaboration with local financial institutions in the Philippines and simultaneously sorted out all the preparatory work for participating in this round of offshore wind power auctions.

The adaptability of the site conditions along the southeast coast of Luzon Island is outstanding

The project site is located along the coast of South Carolina Marines Province in the southeast of Luzon Island, with a total area of approximately 23307 hectares. This sea area has stable sea breeze resources throughout the year, which can ensure that the power generation utilization hours of wind turbines are at a high level. The project is jointly developed by CIP and ACEN, a leading local energy company in the Philippines. ACEN completed the acquisition of 25% equity of the project as early as 2025, complementing local development experience and overseas technological resources.

At present, the project has obtained all core pre permits, from the wind energy service contract in 2023, to the green channel certification of the Philippine Investment Agency, and then to the subsequent national key energy project qualification and pre development environmental compliance certificate. All the preliminary approval processes have been completed.

Project schedule anchoring for grid connection in the third quarter of 2028

According to the currently finalized schedule, the project construction will officially start in July 2026, coinciding with the opening of the GEA-5 offshore wind power auction by the Philippine Department of Energy. The Philippine Department of Energy initiated the pre qualification process for the 3.3GW offshore wind capacity in March 2026, with the official bid opening date set for August 28th. The San Miguel Bay project is one of the core benchmark projects in this auction round. Keywords: offshore wind power, new energy projects

After the project is put into operation, it can directly create thousands of local job opportunities during the construction and operation phases, and the annual output of clean electricity can cover the electricity needs of hundreds of thousands of households, directly supporting the Philippines' goal of renewable energy accounting for 35% by 2030. The implementation path of this project can also provide reference practical samples for other offshore wind power projects in Southeast Asia in the future.Editor/Cheng Liting