South Korea Awards First Floating Wind Electric Business License

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) and TotalEnergies have obtained an electric business license (EBL) for their floating offshore wind project located off the coast of Ulsan, Korea.

According to the developers, this is the first floating offshore wind project in Korea to be awarded an EBL by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Electricity Regulatory Commission.

With a maximum installed capacity of 1.5 GW developed across three phases, it’s one of the largest floating offshore wind developments in the world.

The EBL grants the partners exclusive development rights to progress the project’s first phase of 504 MW.

Detailed environmental impact assessments will now commence on phase one, and construction is expected to start in 2024.

Once operational, the full 1.5 GW project is expected to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 1.5 million households and reduce emissions by approximately 2.3 million tCO2e per annum.

”The award of an EBL is a significant milestone in the development of GIG and TotalEnergies’ Ulsan floating offshore wind farm. We recently completed our wind resource measurement campaign, and having now been awarded exclusive development rights, we’re looking forward to starting detailed environmental impact and engineering assessments,” Shin Jungwon, Country Chair Korea, TotalEnergies, said.

GIG and TotalEnergies said that they are committed to utilising the local supply chain whenever possible, and are actively collaborating with shipbuilders and heavy industry companies in Ulsan to help revive Korea’s offshore industries.

”With its fantastic infrastructure and offshore experience, Ulsan is the perfect location for floating offshore wind development,” Woojin Choi, Managing Director, GIG Korea, said.

”That’s why GIG and TotalEnergies are joining hands with Korea’s world-class shipbuilding and offshore industries to deliver this market-leading project. By bringing together specialist local know-how with GIG and TotalEnergie’s global expertise, the Ulsan project will place Korea at the forefront of the global floating offshore wind market.”

GIG and TotalEnergies have also recently submitted a bid into Scotland’s latest offshore wind leasing round, ScotWind, and have secured rights to develop the 1.5 GW Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind project off the east coast of England.