Image: insung yoon via Unsplash
South Korea plans to invest a whopping 48.5 trillion won ($43.2 billion) to build the world’s largest wind farm by 2030, according to Reuters.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in threw the weight of his office behind the 8.2-gigawatt project at a signing ceremony in the southwestern coastal town of Sinan.
“With this project, we are accelerating the eco-friendly energy transition and moving more vigorously toward carbon neutrality,” Moon said in the news report.
Korea Electric Power Corp, SK E&S, Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., CS Wind Corp and Samkang M&T Co. were all also in attendance.
The companies will provide 47.6 trillion of the required funding and the government will offer the remaining 0.9 trillion.
The project would create as many as 5,600 jobs and help to grow wind power capacity to a target of 16.5 GW by 2030 from 1.67 GW now.
The announcement is a major part of the South Korean government’s Green New Deal, announced last year with the aim to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, according to Reuters. State support is an important step for investors, both corporate and market-based, in guaranteeing the endeavor – especially with such large sums hanging in the balance.
