South Koreans Form Floating Wind Alliance

South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and SK Engineering & Construction have signed a technical cooperation agreement for floating offshore wind farm projects.

The two companies have agreed to implement a One Team Operation (OTO) cooperation system for the floating offshore wind farm business carried out by SK E&C.

Under the agreement, SK E&C will take on the development of the wind farm complex, including the development of the business plan and obtainment of the licenses and permits, while Doosan will assume responsibility for the technology development to manufacture key equipment for floating offshore wind farms.

“Given the rising interest in floating offshore wind farms, the signing of this agreement will open up more business opportunities for us in the market,” said Inwon Park, CEO of Doosan Heavy’s Plant EPC BG.

”We will endeavor to successfully pursue the floating offshore wind power business, including projects in the Ulsan and Southeast region of Korea, where we expect to see phased growth starting in 2023.”

Doosan has been participating in the national project led by Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) for the development of a floating offshore wind power generation system since May. The company is involved in the project via the consortium formed with Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) and Jeju Energy Corporation (JEC).

Back in September, Doosan and Hyundai Heavy Industries signed agreements with Korea National Oil Corporation for the Donghae 1 floating offshore wind project off Ulsan.

For this project, Doosan will provide wind turbines and Hyundai Heavy Industries will manufacture and deliver the floating foundations.

Doosan also plans to invest in R&D and production facilities to expand its floating offshore wind power business.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council’s “Global Wind Report 2020,” the global market for floating offshore wind power is expected to grow from 100 MW this year to a maximum of 13.6 GW by 2030.

Earlier this year, the South Korean government announced plans to build 6 GW of floating wind capacity off Ulsan from 2023 onward.

Overall, South Korea has committed to having 12 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030. Currently, 124 MW of offshore wind capacity is in operation off Korea.