To Revitalize Wind Power Industry in Korea
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC) has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea South-East Power Company (KOEN) for the promotion of offshore wind farms in Korea.
The two companies agreed to cooperate on the 2GW offshore wind farm projects being developed by KOEN in Gyeongin, Southwestern regions and Jeju island, as well as on the development of megawatt-class floating offshore wind power systems and complexes. Moreover, they agreed to engage in technology exchanges for “commercialization of the 8MW large-capacity offshore wind turbine,” a national project being executed by Doosan as the main contractor.
Among all the domestic offshore wind power companies, KOEN has the most extensive business plan for wind power in terms of the planned capacity.
In 2013, KOEN completed construction of the Yeongheung Wind Farm, the first wind farm to be built in Korea, with Doosan supplying 10 wind turbines (30MW) for the project. KOEN is taking the lead in promoting the domestic wind power industry. In 2017, KOEN finished construction of the Tamra Offshore Wind Farm, Korea’s first commercial offshore wind farm, which was achieved via joint collaboration with Doosan using homegrown technology.
“This MOU should enable us to commercialize domestic offshore wind turbines by securing large-scale references. We will cooperate with KOEN to revitalize the wind power industry in Korea to keep ourselves aligned with the Korean government’s Green New Deal policy,” said Park In-won, CEO of Doosan Heavy’s Plant EPC Business Group.
Doosan developed Korea’s first 3MW offshore wind turbine and received international certification for it in 2011, followed by another international certification for its 5.5MW offshore wind turbine in July last year. The company plans to commercialize an 8MW offshore wind turbine, the largest wind turbine to date in Korea, by 2022. The product’s differentiating feature will be the turbine blade, which is to be optimally designed to the maximum possible length for increased efficiency and created in a way to suit the wind conditions in Korea.