BEM holds Offshore Wind Ports Financing Workshop
British Embassy Manila held an Offshore Wind Ports Financing Workshop with the Global Wind Energy Council & the Wind Developer Association of the Philippines.
Manila, Philippines. The British Embassy Manila, held an Offshore Wind Ports Financing Workshop last 24 July 2024 in collaboration with the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and the Wind Developer Association of the Philippines (WEDAP).
The event highlighted key lessons, challenges, and solutions around the development, operation, and financing of Offshore Wind Ports drawing heavily from the UK’s experience and expertise.
The UK’s Country Director of Trade and Investment, James Thackery, gave the opening remarks and a brief overview of the UK’s net zero journey, the role of Offshore Wind, and the work that needed to be done to make Offshore Wind projects viable in the UK:
Offshore Wind is a big part of the UK’s 2050 Net Zero journey…We’ve had to adapt our financing and our investment approaches and we’ve updated our transmission networks and supply chains…we’ve also had to put a huge effort into UK ports to make them Offshore Wind ready.
The Keynote Address was then given by Philippine Department of Energy Undersecretary Giovanni J. Bacordo who highlighted the crucial role of ports in facilitating Offshore Wind development and collaboration across key stakeholders to ensure the viability of Philippine ports. With the Philippines’ Offshore Wind still in the early stages of development, Bacordo mentioned that
Offshore Wind ports are non-existent in the country…in this Offshore Wind port development, we have to learn the best practices as they are applied to Offshore Wind projects in other countries…We believe that no Offshore Wind project can take off without the ports.
Department for Business and Trade Asia Pacific Offshore Wind & Clean Energy Lead Richard Burch led the panel discussion while David Findlay from the UK’s Offshore Wind Energy Catapult (OREC) and Valentino Dass, Philippine Lead for UK Export Finance (UKEF), delivered case studies on port expansion for Offshore Wind and the involvement of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) in capital intensive infrastructure projects. UK companies such as Environmental Research Management (ERM) and ARUP likewise delivered case studies around port design and environmental standards.
The event gathered over 100 in-person and virtual attendees from Philippine government agencies including the Department of Transportation, port operators such as Philippine National Oil Company and ICTSI, developers such as Corio Generation, financial institutions such as HSBC, multilateral organizations such Asian Development Bank, and industry experts such as BVG Associates to exchange knowledge and best practices on offshore wind port design, operations, environmental regulations, and financing.
Offshore wind remains a priority for the Philippines government and the UK stands committed to supporting the Philippines in achieving its offshore wind development goals and wider energy transition objectives.
To know more about offshore wind and other renewable energy technologies in the UK, please contact dit.manila@fcdo.gov.uk.