World’s Largest Offshore Wind Project Powers Ahead

KEPCO KPS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TÜV SÜD Korea and Shinan-gun, a county on the southwest coast of South Korea, to cooperate in the establishment of an industrial Operation & Maintenance ecosystem for the 8.2 GW Shinan offshore wind farm.

The Shinan wind farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, meeting the needs of the 12-million population of Seoul and Incheon, TÜV SÜD said. The wind farm is planned to be built in phases and be fully commissioned by 2030.

The project is a major component of President Moon Jae-In’s Green New Deal, initiated in 2020 to curb reliance on fossil fuels in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and make it carbon neutral by 2050.

Many utility and engineering companies, such as Korea Electric Power Corp, SK E&S, Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp, and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co, are involved in the realisation of the Shinan wind farm.

KRW 48 trillion (USD 43 billion) will be invested by 2030 and more than 1,600 O&M experts will be required for its construction, TÜV SÜD said.

TÜV SÜD Korea will establish a training centre and develop a specialised training system at Shinan-gun to ensure occupational safety for the wind turbine experts.

”The larger the power generation capacity, the bigger the wind turbine blades and the higher the towers. The recently constructed wind turbines are 130m high, equivalent to the height of a 45-storey building. Also, wind turbines are in areas with strong gusts of wind, which can be dangerous to workers. Safety training is not a choice but a necessity,” said Jung-Wook Seo, Managing Director of TÜV SÜD Korea.

TÜV SÜD Korea’s training for wind-turbine experts will be designed to nurture international wind-turbine experts in accordance with the international standards for offshore and onshore wind farm O&M.

The first floating LiDAR calibration site in South Korea will open near Jaeun Island at Shinan-gun during the period of this MoU. TÜV SÜD Korea will be operating the site.

”Korea and Germany share many similarities: Both countries are industrialised, export-oriented and innovation-driven with a focus on manufacturing and future-oriented industries. Today’s MoU sends a strong signal, showing that Germany and Korea are joining hands to tackle the security of energy supply and climate change and that our countries are walking the path towards more sustainability together,” said Peter Winkler, Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy Seoul, who attended the event on behalf of Ambassador Michael Reiffenstuel.