Norwegian, Korean oil firms working on first floating offshore wind farm in Asia

Norwegian oil firm Equinor, South Korean oil firm Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and the Korean power company Korea East-West Power (EWP) have teamed up to develop an offshore wind farm in South Korea.

Equinor Thursday said the consortium would develop the floating offshore wind project Donghae 1 off Ulsan in South Korea.

“The consortium is currently launching the development of a 200MW floating wind farm to be located close to the KNOC-operated Donghae natural gas field off the coast of Ulsan in South Korea,” Equinor said.

The consortium will carry out a feasibility study for the wind farm, including use of the Donghae 1 platform as a substation for a possible wind farm.

Pending results of the feasibility study, the consortium will start constructing a floating offshore wind farm in 2022, with possible power production start-up in 2024.

“We are very pleased to be a member of the partnership involved in realizing the first floating offshore wind farm in Asia,” says Stephen Bull, senior vice president for the wind and low carbon cluster of New Energy Solutions in Equinor.

The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed between KNOC and Equinor back in February, to explore floating wind farm options as part of South Korea’s pursuit a transition in the energy mix from nuclear and coal, to renewable energy.

The share of renewable energy in its power production is estimated to increase to 20% by 2030; aiming to add 49GW to its renewable production capacity by 2030, of which solar power accounts for 31GW and wind power 16GW, Equinor said.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

For more offshore wind-related news follow our sister website OffshoreWind.biz.

Also, if you’re interested in showcasing your company, product or technology on Offshore Energy Today please contact us via our advertising form where you can also see our media kit.