South Korea to Set Up 96.8MW Offshore Wind Farm at Saemangeum

An offshore wind project with a total capacity of up to 96.8MW will be built at South Korea’s estuarine tidal flat Saemangeum.

On 6 January, the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency (SDIA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saemangeum Offshore Wind Power, a special purpose company established between KEPCO KPS and Mirae Asset, as well as Jeonbuk Province, Gunsan City, Korea Rural Community Corporation, Kunsan National University and Jeonbuk Techno Park, to develop the project.

Total investment amounts to KRW 440 billion (approx. EUR 346.2 million) and will make sure 28 wind turbines are erected near the Saemangeum seawall. According to the SDIA, twenty four 3.5MW wind turbines will be installed, with the remaining four having a capacity of 3 to 3.2MW.

The project is scheduled to kick off in April and to be completed in the second half of 2018, when it will be capable of supplying electricity to 62,000 households annually.

Some EUR 31.5 million (KRW 40 billion) will be invested in setting up a Saemangeum industrial complex on a 33,000m² site, which will house a wind turbine factory.

The offshore wind farm will create 6,500 jobs, with 500 people employed directly and 6,000 working indirectly on the project.

The SDIA also plans to develop the area around the offshore wind farm to feature a variety of tourist attractions and marine leisure space, and to develop it into a sightseeing site in consultation with offshore wind farm operators. Specifically, the plan includes operating a dedicated cruise ship for visiting the offshore wind farm and providing a view of the Saemangeum Seawall, the world’s longest seawall, as well as the large-scale wind farm from an observation deck on top of a wind turbine.

The Saemangeum wind power project has been promoted since 2009, but it has been suspended for a long time due to environmental and radar interference issues, the SDIA said. Originally, the wind farm was planned to have 35 turbines, but the number has been reduced to 28 after consultation with relevant governmental departments and municipalities.

Offshore WIND Staff