BadaEnergy Wraps Up EIA Consultation for 1.5 GW Floating Wind Project in South Korea

July 22, 2024, by Adnan Memija

BadaEnergy has completed the environmental impact assessment (EIA) consultation with South Korea’s Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, for its Gray Whale floating offshore wind project in Ulsan.

The completion of the EIA consultation is said to be a result of a more than 30-month-long consultation process which began with the submission of the EIA evaluation preparation in November 2021.

The main consultation is the final stage of the EIA and the final approval of the main plan for the floating offshore wind farm. This means that the developer has completed the important procedure of investigating the impacts on various environmental factors, including the marine ecosystem, and preparing specialised mitigation measures for environmental changes, said BadaEnergy.

The BadaEnergy portfolio, developed jointly by TotalEnergies, Corio Generation and SK Ecoplant, comprises both floating and bottom-fixed projects off the coast of Ulsan and South Jeolla province, including the Grey Whale projects.

With an installed capacity of approximately 1.5 GW and developed across three phases, the project is one of the largest floating offshore wind developments in the world.

The Gray Whale wind farm is planned to be constructed around 60 to 70 kilometres from Ulsan Port.

In 2021, Corio and TotalEnergies received an electric business license (EBL) from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy’s Electricity Regulatory Commission for the project’s first phase of 504 MW.

Two years later, in November 2023, Vestas was selected as the preferred wind turbine supplier for the Gray Whale 3 floating wind farm.

As per the agreement, Vestas will provide 33 units of the V236-15.0 MW wind turbine to be installed on floating foundations.