South Korea plans to invest KRW 36 trillion ($32 billion) to build up a 6 gigawatts (GW) capacity offshore wind power plant off the coast of Ulsan, according to South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in.
According to Moon Jae-in, Ulsan’s sea is the best location for the project because of its wide continental shelf and depth of 100-200 metres.
Once operational, the plant will generate enough power to supply 5.76 million homes. It will also be used for green hydrogen production. 20% of the project's power could deliver 84,000 tonnes of hydrogen.
At the first stage, the South Korean government will invest over KRW1.4tn ($12.5bn) in construction of floating offshore wind turbine in Ulsan by 2025.
James Harris of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: “This represents a significant opportunity for domestic and international developers, manufacturers and other parts of the supply chain in the offshore windfarm sector. It comes after other regional markets in Asia opened up a little earlier, namely Taiwan and Japan, and will hopefully benefit from lessons learned there.”
In February, South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in announced the government’s plan to build a KRW48.5tn ($43.2bn) offshore wind power project in Sinan of south Jeolla.
South Korea’s government launched the Korean New Deal in 2020 including Digital New Deal and Green New Deal policies and an investment of KRW160tn ($144bn).