KNOC and Equinor to develop commercial floating offshore wind in South Korea

South Korea’s proportion of renewable energy in power generation is set to increase to 20% by 2030.

Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and Equinor ASA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly explore opportunities to develop commercial floating offshore wind in South Korea, an announcement revealed.

South Korea is reportedly pursuing a fundamental transition in the energy mix from nuclear and coal, to renewable energy. The proportion of renewable energy in power generation is set to increase to 20% by 2030 which translates to a target of 49GW of new renewable generation capacity by 2030, according to the statement.

“Executing an MoU with Equinor will become a critical opportunity that will advance to practical steps of floating offshore wind in Korea,” Jae-Heon Shim, senior vice president at KNOC, said in a statement. “We plan to actively focus on progress and de-risking studies including feasibility studies in collaboration with Equinor.”

KNOC is 100% owned by the South Korean state with a mandate to ensure South Korea’s energy security. Supporting the South Korean Government’s ambition of renewable energy, KNOC is set to launch a new business by developing floating offshore wind, building on its offshore development experiences. KNOC is looking to develop a 200 MW floating offshore wind project at their existing Donghae platform 58 km off the coast of Ulsan City.

Meanwhile, Equinor is operating the world’s first full-scale commercial floating offshore wind farm off the coast of the UK, where it operates two large scale offshore wind farms based on bottom-fixed technology in Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon. The firm is said to be engaged in developing large-scale wind projects offshore the UK, Germany, Poland and the US with Asia a key future market.