Korea Selects First Offshore Wind Turbine Test Bed

On May 16, 2011, Korean government announced that Young-Kwang area, located at the south west coast of the Korean peninsula, is selected as the offshore wind turbine test bed. Through this test bed, Korean government will test the offshore wind turbine performance and attract investments from wind energy private sector.

South Jeolla province will lead the project with academic institutions, DNV, and wind turbine manufacturers. The project will start from June 2011 and will run for three years till May 2014. Total of 16.2 billion Korean won (approximately 14.8 million USD) will be invested in this project, of which the 11 million USD investments will come from the government and 0.38 million USD from the private sector.

In the first stage of the project, power transmissions, metrological tower, monitoring facilities, 18 MW offshore wind turbines, and 2 MW wind turbines will be installed in the test bed. From 2014, the second stage of the project will start to accommodate 20 MW wind farm and gradually expanding up to accommodating 100 MW wind farm.

DNV will provide consulting services for offshore wind farm:

* Site assessment of offshore wind farm

* Review of offshore wind farm layout including wind turbines and metrological towers

* Review of safety procedures for offshore wind farm operation and maintenance

* Review of operation and maintenance strategy of offshore wind farm

DNV’s Byoung Jun Kim, Country Manager of Cleaner Energy and Natural Gas Korea adds, “Wind energy is still at the infancy stage in Korea. This implies that Korea has a long way to go to further development this industry but it can also be a great opportunities for early starters to strengthen their position in this industry. I am confident that DNV will bring its years of expertise and proven competence to help Korean government and manufacturers expedite the process of wind energy industry development.”

(dnv)

[mappress]

Source: dnv, May 20, 2011;