4th Wind Energy Forum: How the Philippines should ride the offshore wind momentum

“The Philippine energy transition is no longer simply aspirational. It is already underway,” Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Director Ruby de Guzman told the forum’s 120-plus participants. Similarly, British Deputy Ambassador Mike Welch described OSW as a tool for energy independence: “We are encouraged that the Philippines is taking important steps toward energy security.”

Industry leaders, financiers, and policymakers gathered at the fourth NIRAS-organised energy forum to discuss how to sustain the momentum and turn it into reality. They pointed out that the next phase of Philippine RE adoption hinges on successful collaboration to address gaps in financing, infrastructure, workforce, and community engagement.

Locking in capital and infrastructure

Speakers from local and international financial institutions reiterated that funding for OSW and RE projects is available. For instance, BDO Capital and Investment Corp.’s Francisco Bonoan revealed that the investment house has funded over P1.2 trillion (€16 trillion) in sustainable finance projects since 2011. UK Export Finance’s Valentino Daas also noted that they are actively looking at projects in the Philippines as they grow their RE portfolio.

The discussion, therefore, revolved around the best way to unlock existing funding. As Climate Fund Managers’ Jeb Victorino argued, a persisting financing gap requires joint efforts from all stakeholders. “This financing gap cannot be solved by the public sector alone. What the private sector and blended finance should do is bring the private sector along and help fund projects that we’re trying to implement for climate action.”

To further unlock investor appetite, representatives from the banking sector emphasised continued efforts to make projects bankable. “From a capital perspective, there is no shortage of interest in renewable energy in the Philippines. The challenge is ensuring projects are structured correctly and meet international standards,” said Ceejay Hernandez of HSBC.

Speakers agreed that long-term financing depends on predictability underpinned by long-term contracts, stable regulations, and clearer risk-allocation frameworks. Beyond financing projects, banks can play a role in shaping policy discussions. “Banks sit at the centre of this ecosystem. We interact with developers, corporates, policymakers, and suppliers. Many challenges in renewable energy require collaboration across these groups,” Hernandez added.

Tim Norman of Scanis, an environmental sustainability consultancy, described OSW projects as large infrastructure projects requiring robust environmental and social safeguards. Investors, he said, are more confident of projects that bridge local and international environmental standards. “It should not be treated as a box-ticking compliance exercise. From an investment perspective, this creates value. Increasingly, environmental and social performance is not a secondary concern — it is central to investment decision-making.”

Meanwhile, the pace of OSW development will also depend on infrastructure development that is on track with generation capacity. “Supporting infrastructure such as vessels, ports, transmission systems, and supply chains is equally important,” BDO’s Bonoan emphasised.

Another key piece of the puzzle is ports. Pope John Sotto of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), an alliance focussed on wind power, reiterated that many small Philippine ports fall short of OSW requirements and would need significant dredging, expansion, and reinforcement to host activities. “Offshore wind ports require large-scale investment, and this is where financial institutions and blended finance models become essential,” Sotto explained.

Benj Flores of the regional nonprofit Future Energy Storage & System Integration Alliance (FESSIA) then introduced battery energy storage systems (BESS), which can improve the grid’s ability to absorb large-scale energy generation from sources such as OSW. He recommended clear regulatory frameworks and adopting use cases that prioritise revenue stacking to encourage wider BESS deployment in the Philippines: “These are real concerns, but crucially, they are solvable.”

Building talent and trust

The energy transition equally requires long-term investment in people through initiatives that combine local knowledge and global experience. Lagging workforce development may cause project delays and dependency on foreign expertise, reducing value at the local level. “The future winners of the energy transition will not simply be the countries that build turbines first. They will be the countries that build talent first,” said Mikkel Navarro Hansen, founder of Aprendio, a RE and maritime recruitment firm.

More importantly, local labourers must have opportunities beyond the construction phase to build long-term careers in the sector. “Workers who complete one offshore wind project should be able to move to others and build meaningful careers in the sector,” asserted Renewable Energy Initiative’s Jonathan Catalla.

Speakers also reiterated the importance of engaging the communities affected by OSW development. Explaining a recent GWEC study on benefit-sharing mechanisms for Philippine OSW projects, Jigs Consolacion said that locals are not opposed to such initiatives. “Their position is one of caution rather than opposition, mainly due to unanswered questions,” he noted.

Fostering trust among communities means moving beyond mere information dissemination and providing clarity and safeguards, according to NGOs for Fisheries Reform’s Mayette Rodriguez. “It should be a process of reaching agreements among stakeholders. And beyond consultation, there must also be accountability mechanisms. Communities should have the ability to hold stakeholders accountable when agreements are not honoured.”

Based on successful practices from other countries, ClientEarth Asia’s Smile Yu stressed that the power to make decisions and determine benefits must be shared with community members. “A project cannot truly be considered sustainable if it delivers clean energy but, in turn, it creates significant environmental harm, or it undermines local livelihoods,” Yu declared. “The lesson here is that governments should not wait for disruption to occur before thinking about the social impacts.”

GWEC’s Anne Margret Consolacion put it simply: “Communities are not simply stakeholders to consult after decisions are made. They are partners in the transition.”

Moving in step

Overall, sustaining momentum on OSW will depend on the pace at which systems and stakeholders align. Persistent collaboration at all stages will be key.

On the policy side, frameworks must continue to coordinate finance, infrastructure, environment, and community interests. DOE’s de Guzman said the department is committed to fortifying policies by collaborating with other agencies, such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for a more robust and enabling environment for RE investment.

Meanwhile, financiers emphasised their hopes of a consistent regulatory environment that will drive further investment. “Investors need certainty beyond election cycles. We are moving in the right direction, but consistency will be key,” HSBC’s Hernandez said.

More importantly, GWEC’s Francisco described a maturing industry that understands the complexity of the Philippine experience. “We are no longer only discussing megawatts and investments. We are now talking more seriously about jobs, workforce development, women’s participation, fisherfolk engagement, biodiversity and representation in the energy transition, and what a truly just transition should look like in this country.”

If the experience of early OSW-adopting countries proves prescient, Welch exhorted the Philippines not to waver at this critical juncture.

“The Philippines has an estimated 178 gigawatts of offshore wind potential. Even a fraction of that could power millions of homes and transform communities,” he said.

“Of course, there will be challenges, but inconsistency at this stage would undermine years of effort. In the UK, we faced similar challenges … We learned by doing, we adapted, and ultimately the industry came out stronger.”