Published by Wanda Rich
Posted on May 26, 2022
By Joyce Lee and Florence Tan
DAEGU, South Korea (Reuters) – Norway’s Equinor ASA plans to make a final investment decision on what would be its first offshore wind farm in South Korea in 2024, and is considering a third project near the holiday island of Jeju, the head of its South Korean unit said.
“We are looking to build a portfolio of four to six gigawatts in Korea and that’s going to support Equinor’s ambition … in energy transition,” Jacques-Etienne Michel, president of Equinor South Korea, told Reuters on the sidelines of the 2022 World Gas Conference in Daegu, South Korea.
The first project called “Firefly”, a planned semi-submersible wind farm spanning 150 square kilometres (58 sq. miles) off the coast of the city of Ulsan, is undergoing environmental impact assessment and a final investment decision will be made in 2024, Michel said.
The 800-megawatt project, expected to cost several billion dollars and start commissioning in 2028, is wholly owned by Equinor but the company is looking for partners, he said.
Equinor is also in talks with local firms to produce from scratch wind turbines and cables for the project.
“It’s a chance for Korea to be a prime mover and to build a new industry,” Michel said.
Equinor has a second 200-MW wind farm project offshore Ulsan, in partnership with state-run Korea National Oil Corp and local power generator Korea East-West Power.
The company is also exploring a third project, a 1.5-GW wind farm project near Jeju Island, Michel said.
Besides South Korea, Equinor is also looking into similar wind farm projects in Japan and in Vietnam, he said.
(Reporting by Florence Tan and Joyce Lee; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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