Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction announced on December 17 that it had signed an MOU with North Jeolla Province on recruiting local manufacturers for the construction of offshore wind farms in the province’s coastal areas. Among those attending the signing ceremony held at the provincial office were North Jeolla Province Governor Hajin Song, Doosan Heavy’s COO Yeonin Jung and other related parties.
With the signing of the MOU, North Jeolla Province will be providing administrative support on obtaining the required licenses and permits, so that the offshore wind power systems developed by Doosan and other domestic manufacturers can be installed early on in the region. Doosan will be responsible for the manufacturing and maintenance of the wind turbines and the development of the wind farm complex.
“This MOU provides us with the opportunity to cooperate with North Jeolla Province, the central hub for offshore wind power in Korea, on effectively pursuing offshore wind farm projects in the southwest region. Through investments in the local manufacturing of offshore wind turbines in the province, we will endeavor to contribute to the creation of jobs and achieve mutual growth with the local companies,” said Doosan Heavy’s COO Yeonin Jung.
North Jeolla Province is currently pursuing implementation of the 2.4GW “North Jeolla Southwest Offshore Wind Farm Project,” which includes building a 400MW pilot wind farm and a 2GW extension wind farm along the coastal region extending from Gochang County to Buan County. The project, which is valued to be 14 trillion won, is expected to be completed by 2028. Doosan had supplied 20 units of 3MW wind turbines for the preceding 60MW demonstration wind farm project.
In July, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) signed an MOU on Implementation of Mutually Beneficial Large-Scale Wind Power Projects with the local governments including North Jeolla Province, Buan County and Gochang County, the local residents’ representatives, and local enterprises such as Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Korea Offshore Wind Power (KOWP). MOTIE also announced their Offshore Wind Power Development Plan, which involves working with the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to build offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 12GW in the Southwest region of North Jeolla Province by 2030, thereby establishing Korea as one of the world’s Top 5 offshore wind power-generating countries.