Renewable energy firm SK ecoplant is investing in floating and fixed-bottom offshore wind farm projects in South Korea owned by TotalEnergies and Green Investment Group’s Corio Generation.
SK ecoplant is acquiring a stake in the BadaEnergy portfolio which comprises over 2GW of floating and fixed-bottom offshore wind farms off the coast of Ulsan and South Jeolla province.
The portfolio includes the 1.5GW Gray Whale project, expected to become one of the world’s largest floating offshore wind developments.
Subject to government approvals, Corio and TotalEnergies will team up with SK ecoplant to develop the BadaEnergy offshore wind portfolio.
To date, four of the five wind farm projects in the BadaEnergy portfolio have been granted electric business licences.
With exclusive development rights on the majority of the portfolio now secured, the partners said they are progressing the projects up to the first commercial operation date by 2027.
Woojin Choi, representative director of Corio Generation Korea, said: “SK ecoplant’s broad experience and excellent capabilities in offshore development will serve as a great driving force for constructing offshore wind in South Korea, including one of the world’s largest floating offshore wind developments.
“In order to support the country’s ambition to lead the way in offshore wind, we will have a dedicated focus on the localisation of capital, finance and technology.”
Jungwon Shin, country chair Korea of TotalEnergies said: “We are delighted to welcome SK ecoplant, a well-known and leading South Korean company, to the BadaEnergy offshore wind power portfolio as a joint developer.
”Its participation will help to accelerate the development of our projects and to build a strong relationship with the local economy, creating jobs, and building an ecosystem for the South Korean offshore wind power industry and its supply chain. We are very keen to expand our long-term cooperation with South Korea to contribute to the diversification of its energy mix.”
Kyung-il Park, CEO of SK ecoplant said: “By jointly developing the offshore wind business with global energy companies, we have laid the foundation to become a major player in the market.
”We have completed the overall value chain of the energy business by achieving rapid growth through intensive investments in the renewable energy sector such as offshore wind, solar, and fuel cells.”
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