Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) and global energy company Total have signed a series of agreements to co-develop an initial 2.3 GW portfolio of floating offshore wind projects in Korea.
The portfolio consists of five projects – three in Ulsan totaling 1.5 GW and two in South Jeolla Province comprising 800 MW.
The partners aim to start co-development activities in the autumn of 2020, after the completion of regulatory approvals. GIG has already commenced a comprehensive wind data collection campaign to support the portfolio, and the first 500 MW phase of the Ulsan project is targeting commencement of construction by the end of 2023.
GIG and Total say that the floating offshore wind portfolio will play a significant role in the delivery of South Korea’s ambitious renewable energy targets.
To reduce the country’s heavy reliance on nuclear and coal imports, the government’s RE3020 plan promotes an aggressive increase in its green energy capacity, with a particular focus on offshore wind and associated job creation. The plan targets the delivery of 12 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
The GIG/Total partnership will also focus on maximizing Korean content within the supply chain, in line with the government’s ‘New Deal’ plan, which targets the creation of 1.9 million new jobs through green energy and other new technologies.
GIG has signed an MoU with Ulsan City and 18 organizations including local manufacturers HESI and Unison, Korea East-West Power, KEPCO-ENC, and a number of R&D organizations including Ulsan Techno Park and Ulsan University. The MoU commits the parties to cooperation on activities that will promote floating offshore wind in Ulsan, develop local technologies and create new jobs.
Mark Dooley, global head of GIG, said: “Thanks in large part to the country’s world-class shipbuilding and marine plant infrastructure, GIG and Total see significant opportunities for floating offshore wind in Korea.
“We are committed to working with Korean companies and the local workforce as much as possible in order to support the Korean government’s Green New Deal plan, revitalize the economy and support jobs through Korea’s green transition.”
Julien Pouget, senior vice-president of renewables at Total, said: “South Korea benefits from a unique set of competencies and assets to become one of the leading players in the floating offshore wind sector. Total and GIG’s combined expertise and resources will contribute to the success of this strategy and help curb down the country’s carbon emissions, in line with our net zero ambition.”
