South Korea has announced that it plans to build a 6 GW offshore wind park on floating foundations. The project will be located off the coast of Ulsan City at a proposed investment of KRW 36 trillion ($32.1 billion). The overall investment will come from both the public and private sectors and is expected to create about 210,000 jobs. The project is set to be completed by 2030.
As per a statement by the government, Ulsan City is optimal for the project owing to its wide continental shelf with a depth of 100-200 metres. The scheme is said to also benefit from the area’s strong winds of over 8 metres per second and the availability of transmission and distribution networks connected to nearby power plants. The wind power complex will also be large enough to generate the equivalent of supplying 5.76 million households.
The Government also suggested that a portion of its output could be used for the production of green hydrogen.
It was also reported that public companies such as Korea National Oil Corporation and Korea East-West Power Co Ltd could also participate in the development of local floating wind projects. Other potential participants include Equinor ASA, the Green Investment Group and France’s Total SA, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the KFWind consortium, and the partnership between Shell and CoensHexicon Co Ltd.