French energy giant Total and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) have signed a series of agreements to co-develop an initial 2.3-gigawatt (GW) portfolio of floating offshore wind projects in South Korea, Total announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Total and GIG will have a 50/50 partnership to develop a portfolio of five large floating offshore wind projects, three in Ulsan totaling 1.5 GW and two in the South Jeolla province totaling 800 MW, with a potential cumulated capacity of more than 2 GW.
The projects have commenced an on-site comprehensive wind data collection campaign to launch the construction of the first project of around 500 megawatts by the end of 2023.
The agreement comes after South Korea announced its Green New Deal plan on July 14, in which it reaffirmed its ambition to develop renewable energies which will reach at least 20% of the power mix by 2030, including 12 GW of offshore wind capacities.
'Our entry in the floating offshore wind segment in South Korea is in line with Total’s strategy to profitably develop renewable energy worldwide and contribute to our net-zero ambition,' Patrick Pouyanne, chairman of Total was quoted as saying in the statement.
'The country has a significant potential for the development of a floating offshore wind segment benefiting from strong governmental support and a unique set of local competencies amongst which are the extensive shipbuilding know-how and the country’s ambitious research and development programs,' the statement read.
'We are committed to working with Korean companies and the local workforce as much as possible in order to support the Korean government's Green New Deal plan, revitalize the economy and support jobs through Korea’s green transition,' said Mark Dooley, global head of GIG.
The companies have set the goal of creating 1.9 million new jobs through green energy and other new technologies.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr