TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, 4 August 2025 – Representatives from the Northern Samar provincial government and energy transition advocates have identified grid infrastructure as a key barrier to the full-scale development of renewable energy (RE) projects in Eastern Visayas, particularly in Northern Samar, where four wind projects are in their pre-development stage.
Northern Samar is gaining attention as a potential hub for wind project development. The Department of Energy (DOE) has already awarded five service contracts in the province as of April 2025, with more developers eyeing the region, due to its favorable wind conditions. Northern Samar Provincial Planning and Development Office Head Jay Keenson Acebuche, said during a media kapihan session organized by Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy (CASE) for Southeast Asia Project, that the province is preparing to support investments by simplifying permitting processes and establishing mechanisms to better coordinate with municipalities.
Despite promising local readiness, additional grid capacity must be installed to support new energy generation infrastructures. “The critical part here is the grid and transmission. No matter how favorable the business climate is for renewable energy, no matter how ready the civil society organizations are, and no matter how much money the investors have—it will all boil down to transmission,” Acebuche said.
Moreover, Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) Philippines Country Manager Ann Margret Francisco, who also served as one of the panelists, echoed this concern and highlighted the country’s offshore wind (OSW) potential. She cited the World Bank’s Philippines Offshore Wind Roadmap, which estimates the country’s OSW capacity at 178 gigawatts (GW).
The report also identified Pacific-facing regions — such as Northern Samar and Bicol — as key sites for early development, a point also highlighted by Francisco during the discussion. “As you put more RE in the system, you have to ensure that your transmission is able to take in much capacity,” added Francisco. This aligns with the recent development from the DOE’s fifth round of their Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), offering an installation target of 3.3 GW of offshore wind capacity and marking a major milestone in the country’s energy transition. This is an addition to the 2.39 GW of onshore wind capacity offered in the fourth round of the auction.
Furthermore, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) Partnerships and Advocacy Advisor Francis Dela Cruz emphasized the need for multi-actor collaboration involving local governments, civil society organizations, the private sector, and the media to ensure that infrastructure, such as offshore wind projects, regulation, and public engagement align as they progress. “Media has a crucial role [to play] in the energy transition so that we can thrive and not just survive. Conversations on energy can be very complex, but we can find ways to make information more accessible and easy to understand,” he explained.
Meanwhile, at the community level, Dr. Ronelie Salvador, Executive Director and Founder of the Center for Sustainable Aquaculture and Agri-based Innovations (CenSAAI), affirmed their “commitment to assist in organizing and creating awareness on renewable energy” among civil society and fisherfolk communities.
The Media Kapihan session was part of the four-day roadshow entitled, “The Road to Renewables: Conversations on Energy Transition.” Organized by CASE Philippines, it served as a platform for open dialogue and collaborative learning among key players in the energy transition—focusing on community perspectives and social acceptability of offshore wind projects, particularly in Northern Samar. This marks the first stop in CASE’s series of roadshows, which aim to deepen understanding, surface local challenges, and identify concrete pathways toward a just energy transition in the Philippines.
ABOUT
Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) is a regional project implemented in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam that aims to drive the Southeast Asian power sector towards decarbonization and increased climate mitigation ambition.
CASE in the Philippines is jointly implemented by GIZ Philippines, with the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities as the expert organization and the Philippines’ Department of Energy as the political partner.
CONTACT
Sanafe Marcelo, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63968 886 3466
Sophia Fernandez, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63918 455 8870
Ira Guerrero, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63917 149 5649
