P82-B offshore wind project gets green lane endorsement

MANILA: The PHP81.68-billion offshore wind project of Ivisan Windkraft Corp. has been given a green lane endorsement from the Board of Investments' (BOI) One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSAC-SI). In a statement Thursday, BOI said its Managing Head and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo awarded the green lane certificate of endorsement to Ivisan Windkraft for its 450-megawatt Frontera Bay Wind Power Project in Cavite last Dec. 6. 'We endeavor to develop the offshore wind industry value chain in the Philippines and invite global offshore wind industry players to choose the Philippines as their hub in Southeast Asia,' Rodolfo said. With the green lane endorsement, national government agencies and local government units should expedite and streamline transactions for permits and licenses related to the renewable energy firm's offshore wind project in Cavite. The certification will also help the company to accelerate the project and achieve the administration's goal of operating an offsho re wind farm during the term of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The BOI considered the project as a strategic investment as this contributes to the government's goal of producing 15.3 gigawatts of clean energy by 2030 under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. The Frontera Bay Wind Power Project is also expected to produce 2,700 jobs during the pre-development, development and operational stages of the project. 'What we want to show is that the offshore wind industry has Filipinos around the world working as engineers, mariners, etc. Developing the ecosystem in the country aligns with our goals of bringing the OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) home and investing in the capabilities of the Filipinos,' Ivisan Windkraft vice president Theo Sunico said. The project will also be visible from the proposed Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB), which financing was already closed by the Philippine government and the Asian Development Bank last week. Under Executive Order No. 18, OSAC-SI is tasked to issue green lane certificate of endorsement to projects that are considered as strategic investments. Source: Philippines News Agency