Ørsted to build 1600 MW offshore wind farm in South Korea

Ørsted today announced its intention to build offshore wind projects in South Korea with a potential capacity of up to 1600 MW off Incheon City's coast, South Korea.

The announcement was made at an event attended by representatives of the National Assembly, the Energy Agency of South Korea, and key industry leaders with offshore wind track records in the supply chain of South Korea.

The offshore wind projects of Ørsted will be located more than 70 km from the Incheon city's central areas and have relatively shallow depths of water at the target project site to facilitate cost-effective construction.

Projects could be commissioned from 2026 onwards, subject to approvals, an off-take agreement with a Korean energy utility, and a final investment decision.

Earlier this year, by installing four floating lidars off the coast of Incheon, Ørsted achieved a significant milestone and has made substantial progress in gathering all relevant data for securing the potential 1.6 GW offshore wind sites.

Ørsted's projects in Incheon will provide renewable energy to 1.4 million South Korean households. They also reduce carbon emissions by almost 4 million metric tons per year, making significant contributions to the Green New Deal and President Moon's recently declared aim of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Many of the South Korean firms, including POSCO Steel, CS Wind, LS Cable, Hyosung, Samkang M&T, Hyundai ESI, and EEW Korea, were working with Ørsted on offshore wind projects in both Europe and Asia. Most recently, the manufacturing of the first jacket foundations for the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan was completed by Samkang M&T and Hyundai ESI, showing successful cross-border partnerships.

Ørsted said that it has a "strong commitment to supporting South Korea's green energy transition and intends to work with South Korean suppliers to form a "healthy and competitive" domestic supply chain that can sustain and extend its export success.

Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore, said:

"The prospects of contributing to South Korea's transition to renewable energy is a great inspiration for Ørsted. With strong industrial capabilities, significant supply chain potential, and numerous sites with favourable offshore wind conditions, South Korea has a fantastic starting point for becoming a leading offshore wind market."

Matthias Bausenwein, President of Ørsted Asia Pacific, said:

" Ørsted's projects in Incheon will support a thriving offshore wind industry in South Korea and contribute to the realization of the government's target of 12GW offshore wind capacity by 2030. Building on our experience and unparalleled track-record in offshore wind development world-wide and the Asia Pacific, we are dedicated to engaging in long-term partnerships with the South Korean government and local stakeholders.

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