Equinor has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korean East-West Power (EWP) to cooperate on 3 GW of offshore wind projects in South Korea. Together the partners will contribute significantly to the country’s ongoing energy transition and development of an offshore wind industry in Korea.
The Korean Government has set out an ambition to grow renewables by ~60 GW to 2034, of which 12GW is targeted for offshore wind by 2030.
Equinor’s partnership with EWP, one of Korea’s state-owned power generation companies (‘Gencos’), provides a strong basis for the offshore wind major to take a leading role in developing a pipeline of offshore wind projects needed.
“South Korea aims to become one of the leading global markets for offshore wind in the next decade. Together with EWP, we are ready to contribute to the country’s plans, in the short and the long-term. We want to develop the first commercial floating offshore wind farm in South Korea. We have worked with the Korean supply chain for many years and know its qualities and capabilities. We see a big potential to leverage our experience in building a new industry together with Korea’s world-class supply chain”, says Pål Eitrheim, executive vice president in Renewables in Equinor.
The MoU between Equinor and EWP confirms Equinor’s strategy of accelerating profitable growth in renewables by creating value from early access at scale in attractive markets, in collaboration with partners that share its vision and goals. Given the Korean coastal water depths, floating solutions are required to realise the South Korean Government’s renewables ambitions. Equinor will bring its decades of floating wind experience and offshore technology to the partnership, including O&M expertise.
Equinor South Korea
Equinor has been in South Korea since 2014. The offshore energy company has long experience with Korean shipyards, having worked with local suppliers to support the construction of vast platforms and vessels. With offshore experience and project management expertise from the North Sea and around the world, the offshore energy company is uniquely qualified to lead the way and further develop floating offshore wind in South Korea in a safe and efficient way.
Equinor is operator of the world’s first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland (30MW) and currently constructing the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm under development, Hywind Tampen (88 MW), both in the North Sea. While both these wind farms apply the Hywind technology, Equinor will use the Wind Semi for its projects in South Korea as this technology has been developed specifically for Korean waters and local conditions.
