The government is pushing ahead with offshore wind power projects led by public institutions starting this year and has decided to introduce competitive bidding for research and development (R&D) and support for the demonstration of turbines and equipment during the first half of the year. Participation by public institutions is a prerequisite, but the evaluation will take security indicators into account.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the 'Public-Led Offshore Wind Power Bid Promotion Plan' at the '2nd Offshore Wind Power Activation Industry Meeting' held on the 20th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chaired by Second Vice Minister Choi Nam-ho. This is to systematically promote offshore wind power by considering energy security and the transition from coal power from the beginning of offshore wind power.
The government will support demonstrations for the commercialization of research and development outcomes and the establishment of a public-led industrial ecosystem. It has been decided to create a foundation for the sustainable expansion of offshore wind power based on the public's domestic and international credibility in energy and resource development.
Specifically, public standards include public institutions and local public enterprises. The basic requirement is to participate with more than 50% public equity, while varying standards will be applied according to public sole investment and whether government R&D demonstrations occur. The evaluation method will maintain the two-stage evaluation system introduced last year, but a new security evaluation indicator (8 points) in accordance with the 'Special Act on Resource Security' will be established.
If they participate, they will generally receive policy preference prices for supply chain and security contributions, and may receive additional preferential prices during government R&D demonstrations. Financial support projects such as loans and guarantees will also be prioritized for support. Regarding the announced capacity, plans will be finalized at the time of announcement after comprehensively considering the total bidding demand for offshore wind power and the demand for public-led bidding.
The Ministry of Industry decided to start amending related regulations based on the opinions of public developers, manufacturing corporations for turbines and cables, turbine installation vessels, and cable laying vessels participating in the meeting that day and will conduct additional opinion collection at a comprehensive briefing next month.
The Ministry of Industry will implement regular announcements early in the first half according to the 'Offshore Wind Power Competitive Bidding Roadmap' announced last year. The Ministry of Industry intends to push forward with the announcement for the first half in May, and will proceed with additional announcements in the second half if necessary.