Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and Norway's Equinor signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly explore opportunities to develop commercial floating offshore wind in South Korea, Equinor said on Friday.
'South Korea has large potential and offers attractive opportunities within offshore wind. We are pleased to sign a MoU with KNOC to strengthen our collaboration. We look forward to evaluate how we can further expand our portfolio within offshore wind and contribute to develop renewable energy solutions in South Korea,' Stephen Bull, senior vice president for wind and low carbon in new energy solutions in Equinor, said.
South Korea is pursuing a fundamental transition in its energy mix from nuclear and coal to renewable energy.
The proportion of renewable energy in power generation is set to increase to 20 percent by 2030, which translates to a target of 49 gigawatts of new renewable generation capacity by 2030.
The South Korean state owns 100 percent of KNOC, which has a mandate to oversee South Korea’s energy security.
Supporting the South Korean Government’s ambition of renewable energy, KNOC is launching a new business by developing floating offshore wind, building on their offshore development experiences.
KNOC is looking to develop a 200-megawatt floating offshore wind project at their existing Donghae platform, 58 kilometers off the coast of Ulsan City.
Equinor also operates the world’s first full-scale commercial floating offshore wind farm in Hywind, Scotland.
The company is engaged in developing large-scale wind projects offshore the U.K., Germany, Poland and the U.S. with Asia a key future market.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
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