Swedish floating multi-turbine platform designer Hexicon AB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Busan Techno Park and Renewable Energy Center for the development of floating offshore wind in South Korea.
Hexicon and its Korean partners COENS Co Ltd and Busan Techno Park have already received a grant from the Korean Business and Energy Agency to investigate how multi-turbine platforms can be adapted to local conditions.
The Sweden-based company said it is in charge of complete drawings which allow South Korean shipyards to build multi-turbine platforms in series, while the technology is patented and can be upscaled, enabling the whole industry to serve the needs of other markets.
“We are of course proud to be chosen by Busan Techno Park to develop our unique offshore technology for the Korean market,” said Henrik Baltscheffsky , Hexicon’s CEO.
“Advantages of placing wind turbines at favorable wind spots independently of water depth and of having several turbines on one platform reduce the environmental impact and contribute to decreased cost of electricity production.”
Hexicon recently agreed to form a joint venture company in Korea with integrated service provider COENS Co Ltd, which will be named CoensHexicon Co. Ltd and focused on transferring Hexicon’s floating platform technology to Korea and offering serial production of Korea-manufactured units for floating wind power in the local and other agreed markets.
According to the company, Korea in general and particularly the city of Busan have high ambitions to develop offshore wind power with the recently-announced act of support for floating wind.
In November 2017, South Korea welcomed its first commercial offshore wind farm, the 30MW Tamra.