Ørsted Making Offshore Wind Moves in South Korea

Ørsted and Korea Southern Power (KOSPO), Korea’s state-owned utility provider, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop an 800 MW offshore wind project in Ongjin county, Incheon.

The 800 MW offshore wind project is part of the 1.6 GW Incheon projects.

In addition, the total investment for the Incheon offshore wind projects is multi-trillion Won, and the large-scale investment is expected to lead to various positive ripple effects, such as the creation of a construction base, supply of equipment, and job creation, which is expected to revitalize the Incheon economy, Ørsted said.

Under the MoU, Ørsted and KOSPO agreed to explore key areas of collaboration on Ørsted’s Incheon offshore wind projects, including Renewable Energy Certificate offtake, joint operation, and technology exchange for offshore wind O&M.

”This MoU marks an important milestone for the Incheon offshore wind projects to receive secured revenues, taking us one step closer towards making the flagship wind farms a reality,” Martin Neubert, Deputy Group CEO of Ørsted, said.

”We are confident that by leveraging our more than 30-years of global experience as well as the know-how and local expertise of KOSPO, we will adapt to the Korean market and form a strong team to foster a vibrant offshore wind industry to create local benefits and economic opportunities, making significant contributions to support Korea in achieving its ambitious 12 GW offshore wind target.”

In cooperation with Ørsted, KOSPO expects to strengthen its development capabilities for large-scale new and renewable energy projects, including technological exchanges for offshore wind power O&M.

In addition, Ørsted and KOSPO plan to build an offshore wind power project site at a distance of more than 70 kilometres from the Incheon coastline to minimize the impact on the environment and nearby fishing areas.

Seung-Woo Lee, President of KOSPO, said: ”The MoU with Ørsted, the world’s leading company in the offshore wind industry, will be of great help to our company’s expansion of the new and renewable energy business.” He also said: “I expect that it will not only achieve the government’s energy transition goal, but also speed up Korea’s large-scale offshore wind power development.”

In a separate statement, Ørsted has announced the appointment of Seung-Ho Choe as its new Country Manager for Korea.

In his new role, Seung-Ho will have overall end-to-end responsibility for Ørsted’s Korea business, expanding its presence and visibility, overseeing the successful development of the Incheon offshore wind projects, developing new greenfield projects and other new business areas such as renewable hydrogen, as well as focusing on further cultivating Ørsted’s partnerships with the Korean supply chain.

”Seung-Ho will chart the course to mature and grow our business through collaborating with local partners, stakeholders, and suppliers across the value chain, ensuring the deployment of our unique expertise to enable sustainable green energy systems through our 1.6 GW Incheon offshore wind projects and other potential renewable buildouts in various regions of the country as we are committed to supporting Korea in achieving its energy transition,” Matthias Bausenwein, President of Ørsted Asia-Pacific, said.