The 6GW offshore wind facility is targeted to begin full operations by 2030
The proposed offshore floating wind farm will be built off the coast of Ulsan City. (Credit: www_slon_pics from Pixabay)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has unveiled plans of his government to build a 6GW offshore floating wind farm with an investment of KRW36trillion ($32bn).
The renewable facility is expected to be fully commissioned by the end of this decade.
To be located off the coast of Ulsan City, the floating wind farm will offset 9.3 million tons of greenhouse gas emitted annually.
The offshore floating wind farm and associated facilities will be constructed on Donghae 1, which is South Korea’s first commercially viable offshore natural gas field. The Donghae 1 field is likely to cease production and close in 2022 following 18 years of operation.
Once commissioned, the offshore wind facility will produce enough electricity consumed by 5.7 million homes in the country. It will make up for half of the country’s wind power production in 2030.
The floating wind farm will also generate 84,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen per year, said Jae-in.
The South Korean President Moon said: “Sea winds are like carbonless petroleum in the 21st century. Large scale offshore wind farms will bring us a short cut to achieve carbon neutral and provide us with new growth engines.”
The offshore floating wind farm, which will help South Korea reach its target of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, will generate 210,000 new roles, reported The South China Morning Post.
Earlier this year, the South Korean government announced plans to construct an 8.2GW offshore wind farm with an investment of KRW48.5trillion ($44bn) by the end of 2030.
Other major wind projects in the pipeline for South Korea are the 1.6GW offshore wind farms proposed to be developed by Ørsted and five floating offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 2.3GW to be built by Total and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group.
In September last year, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC), a subsidiary of Doosan Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korea National Oil (KNOC) for the development of the Donghae 1 floating wind project.