Hanwha Ocean has set the stage for its offshore wind power business.
Hanwha Ocean said on the 23rd that it signed an EPC (a turnkey method responsible for the entire process of engineering, procurement and construction) contract for the Shinan Ui offshore wind power project. The Shinan Ui offshore wind power project is a large-scale project to build a 390 MW offshore wind farm in the waters southeast of Ui Island, Shinan County, South Jeolla Province.
To strengthen its global offshore wind and onshore/offshore plant EPC business, Hanwha Ocean last month created the Energy Plant Division and is focusing on new orders.
The contract will be jointly carried out by Hanwha Ocean and Hyundai E&C, with a total contract value of 2.64 trillion won. Of that, Hanwha Ocean's contract amount is 1.9716 trillion won.
Hanwha Ocean has overseen the overall development, including securing key permits and improving resident acceptance, and Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO), Hyundai E&C and SK eternix are participating as shareholders. It also selected the Korea Development Bank and KB Kookmin Bank as arrangers for PF (project financing) and is proceeding with PF procedures. The Future Energy Fund, created by the Korea Development Bank and the five major commercial banks, plans to invest 544 billion won, including equity investment and subordinated loans.
Through this project, Hanwha Ocean selected domestic corporations as partners for key supply chains such as submarine cables, substructure fabrication and offshore installation. It also plans to directly build a WTIV (wind turbine installation vessel) capable of installing 15 MW-class turbines for the first time in Korea and deploy it to the Shinan Ui offshore wind power project.
The global offshore wind market is expected to grow rapidly from 83 GW on a cumulative completion basis last year to 441 GW by 2034, but the domestic market remains at about 0.35 GW this year due to permitting procedures, resident acceptance, and infrastructure and financing issues. In response, the government recently announced a plan to expand basic infrastructure such as ports and vessels, aiming to deploy 25 GW of offshore wind by 2035.
Philippe Levy, head of Hanwha Ocean's Energy Plant Division (president), said, "The Shinan Ui offshore wind EPC contract is an important turning point for Hanwha Ocean as it expands its business domain beyond shipbuilding and offshore into eco-friendly energy infrastructure," adding, "Based on our EPCIO capabilities that cover everything from design to construction, installation and operation, we will make tangible contributions to revitalizing Korea's offshore wind industry ecosystem and achieving carbon neutrality."