French utility company ENGIE has bagged wind development rights in South Korea, following recent success in a Scottish auction.
Ocean Winds, an ENGIE 50/50 joint-venture with EDPR, and its partner Aker Offshore Wind, won exclusive rights to develop the Korea Floating Wind project, according to a statement.
“We are very proud that Ocean Winds and its partner have been successfully awarded, by South Korean authorities, the exclusive rights to develop what will be the first large scale floating project of Ocean Winds,” Paulo Almirante, ENGIE Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Renewables, Energy Management and Nuclear Activities, said.
Floating wind developments allow installations to reach further out to sea, accessing stronger and steadier winds for greater generation yields. The technology remains relatively new but has gained success in a recent auction in Scotland, as well as now in South Korea.
Korea Floating Wind, a venture between Ocean Winds (66.7%) and Aker Offshore Wind (33.3%), has gained license for a project capacity of 870 MW in Ulsan from the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
KF Wind expects a second license for a 450 MW capacity to follow, while it continues to pursue development with the objective of reaching financial close in 2024.
South Korea aims to generate 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2030, of which 12 GW will come from offshore wind. At the COP26 climate talks, the South Korean government committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to their 2018 peak.
