Deep Wind Offshore seals 'forward moving' deal for gigascale project off South Korea
Norwegian developer set to start data gathering off southeast Asian nation following floating Lidar purchase, with eye on key electricity business licence milestone
Developer Deep Wind Offshore’s (DWO) plans to build a gigascale bottom-fixed wind development off South Korea have taken a key step forward, after it locked-in site exclusivity for a shallow-water site in the Southern Sea by setting the seal on an order for pair of floating Lidars from local technology supplier Seatech.
The deal is central to the Norwegian outfit’s ambition to construct a lead-off array of 700MW-1GW in waters off the Asian island nation, which is targeting having 12GW of offshore wind turning by 2030.
“The awarded [development] permits and agreement with Seatech are a great achievement for [us] in South Korea,” said DWO chief Knut Vassbotn. “This supports our strategy of providing clean electricity for coastal communities at the same time as paving the way for local supply chain in our projects.”
Pilsun Jang, CEO of Seatech, added: “We highly appreciate that [DWO has] chosen our technology solution and will continue to support [it] to succeed in Korea.”
The first of the two floating Lidars is slated to be deployed in Q4 for a one-year data collection campaign, ahead of applying for an electricity business licence – an important milestone as the developer moves to secure construction permits and financial investment decision for the project.
DWO – backed by Haugesund-headquartered shipping giant Knutsen OAS, which has some 27 vessels under construction in South Korea – sees the project site ripe for “further expansion” beyond the first phase of development.
“We see that the concrete targets of South Korea for 12GW by 2030, coupled with its superior maritime supply chain, are providing the fundamentals for successfully realising megaprojects in offshore wind,” said Vassbotn.
“We have through our owner Knutsen Group hands on experience on what the South Korean yard industry can do in steel fabrication. It is encouraging to see companies like Seatech emerging that are able to provide solutions for the wider balance of plant required to develop offshore wind projects.”
South Korea has a world-class shipbuilding industry, while the wider array of companies to support offshore wind development, is also “rapidly growing”, he added.
“This is positive for realising projects both in South Korea and internationally. With our latest agreement, we are really moving forward in this market.”
A growing number of Western developers that also includes Ocean Winds, Mainstream Renewable Power, Equinor and Shell are currently pushing into the South Korean offshore wind market.