Widening the playing field for renewable energy in the Philippines, the Board of Investments (BOI), through its One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSAC-SI), granted a green lane certification to Copenhagen Infrastructure New Market Fund Philippines Corporation or CI NMF (PH) Corp. for its three offshore wind power projects in North Samar, Pangasinan / La Union and Camarines Sur / Camarines Norte on February 19, 2024.
Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo presented the Green Lane Certificates of Endorsement to CI NMF (PH) Corp. officials during a brief awarding ceremony at the BOI Main Office.
A pioneer in offshore wind projects, CI NMF (PH) Corp. is the first 100% foreign-owned company to be awarded renewable energy service contracts in the Philippines. CI NMF (PH) Corp. is an affiliate of Danish fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), the world’s largest fund manager dedicated to renewable energy investments, and a global leader in offshore wind.
Making it Happen with CI NMF (PH) Corp.: Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo (fourth from left) awarded the green lane certificate to Mr. Niels Holst, Partner and Co-Head of the Growth Markets Fund (fifth from left) during a brief ceremony at the BOI Main Office in Makati City.
Photo shows from left, Atty. Cristina Collantes-Garcia – Partner, Romulo Law; Ernesto C. Delos Reyes, Jr., Director, Investments Assistance Service; Atty. Bobby G. Fondevilla – Executive Director, Investments Assistance Center; Undersecretary Rodolfo, Mr. Niels Holst Partner and Co-Head of the Growth Markets Fund; Robert Helms, Partner and Offshore Wind Lead for the Growth Markets Fund; Przemek Lupa, Associate Partner and APAC Lead for the Growth Markets Fund; Rune Damgaard, Co-CEO for the Philippine Offshore Wind Projects, Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP); Mr. Francis Daba, Business Development Director of the Copenhagen Infrastructure Service Company (CISC); and Atty. Tristan Delgado, Senior Associate of Romulo Law.
In March last year, CI NMF (PH) Corp. was awarded with three Wind Energy Service Contracts. The offshore wind projects will have a combined capacity of up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) of power, with a variety of components including wind turbines, foundations, cables, and substations. The specific configuration will be defined through a rigorous procurement process, additional engineering, and environmental evaluations required by both national and international legislation and norms.
In the meeting with the BOI officials, Mr. Niels Holst, Partner and Co-Head of the Growth Markets Fund lauded the Marcos administration’s vision for renewable energy, pointing out that CIP’s portfolio of projects in the Philippines presents an exciting prospect of accelerated deployment of offshore wind in the country.
“The Marcos government’s vision for renewables has been instrumental in attracting significant interest from a global leader in offshore wind like CIP, first with the removal of the foreign equity restrictions in November 2022, then the issuance of Executive Order 21 in April 2023 for a coordinated approach to offshore wind, and now the award of the Green Lane status to our projects, which we highly welcome,” he told the officials of the BOI.
According to Mr. Przemek Lupa, Associate Partner, and APAC Lead for the Growth Markets Fund, significant work has been done by their teams to progress the three projects since the execution of the wind energy service contracts in March last year. “Today is another significant milestone for CIP and we strongly believe that the Green Lane status will materially contribute to putting up the first offshore wind projects into commercial operations within the Marcos administration. We look forward to further working closely with the BOI and DTI to ensure smooth project permitting and consenting,” he said.
In response, Undersecretary Rodolfo thanked the officials for investing in the Philippines. “Thank you for your interest and investment in the Philippines. We will increase our coordination with other government agencies. We’d like to bring in all of the agencies on one loop and explain the requirements,” he added.
OSAC-SI will actively monitor the progress made by agencies in processing permit and license applications and will submit comprehensive reports accordingly.