South Korea unveils offshore wind bidding roadmap

Around 7-8 GW worth of tenders will be launched.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) has announced South Korea’s Offshore Wind Power Competitive Bidding Roadmap that aims to strengthen the country’s efforts in expanding renewable energy distribution and strengthening the supply chain.

“With the distribution of domestic wind power facility forecast to reach 18.3 GW [gigawatts] by 2030 (11th Basic Plan on Electricity Supply and Demand), the situation going forward calls for competitive bidding on large-scale offshore wind power projects,” the ministry said.

Under the roadmap, competitive bidding for wind power projects will move up from its initial window in the fourth quarter (Q4) to the second quarter of each year, and the notice of an additional tender will be released in Q4 if needed. 

The ministry said Korea will launch approximately 7–8 GW worth of offshore wind power tenders from the second half of 2024 to the first half of 2026.

Authorities will adopt a two-stage process in evaluating the bids. The first round will look into non-price attributes and the second round includes price competition based on an evaluation of price attributes. The bidder with the highest total score will be the winner. 

The government intends to increase the score allotted for non-price criteria from the current 40 to 50, as well as incorporating aspects like maintenance, security, and public works as additional evaluation criteria.

The ministry said a bid market for floating wind turbine projects will be opened this year alongside the existing one for fixed wind turbine orders. Moreover, in line with the realignment of the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) system, a target ratio on public sector participation will be proposed to strengthen its role.

Authorities are also planning to launch a public-led bid market in the first half of 2025.

MOTIE aims to release a wind power tender for competitive bidding in October, preceded by a tender briefing in September.