'Key milestone' | RWE awarded development rights on first offshore wind project in Korea
Seohae array is set to become RWE's first offshore wind array in Korea, but much more is planned
German utility RWE has been awarded a 495MW electricity business licence (EBL) that grants exclusive rights to develop South Korea’s Seohae offshore wind farm, approximately 45 kilometres off the coast of Chungcheongnam Province.
The award was described by RWE as a key step toward the development of its first Korean offshore wind project, with the company having opened a Seoul office in 2021.
An EBL is a mandatory requirement that permits companies to generate and supply electricity in Korea.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind stated: “This first (EBL) is a key milestone in the further development of our Seohae offshore wind project.
“We would like to thank the Korean government and local stakeholders for their trust in us and for supporting our project.”
RWE said the next step in the development of the Seohae project is to work with local suppliers to continue engineering and environmental impact assessment studies, as well as engage with Taean County and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to plan and secure a grid connection agreement.
RWE has established an offshore wind project development pipeline of three gigawatts in Korea including the 495MW Seohae project, the 510MW Neulsaem Ui project in the waters off Shinan County and the 2GW Hanee Baram project in Incheon.
RWE also established an offshore wind co-development partnership with Hyundai Engineering & Construction last year.
South Korea has a Net Zero target for 2050 and a government plan to increase renewable energy capacity to 108GW by 2036. This includes 34GW of wind capacity of which 24GW are expected to be offshore wind.
The cooperation agreement with Hyundai includes possible partnering along the value chain for future green hydrogen projects.
Heading a consortium also featuring Japanese giants Mitsui and Osaka Gas, RWE was selected to develop, construct and operate a fixed-bottom offshore wind farm scheduled to complete its commissioning in June 2029.
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