en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Sinan Uido offshore wind power project has officially commenced construction. As the first investment project of Korea's National Growth Fund, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on the 16th, marking the start of the construction phase.
Located southeast of Uido Island (우이도) in Sinan County (신안군), South Jeolla Province, the project has a planned installed capacity of 390 megawatts and a total investment of 3.4 trillion Korean won, with a target of achieving commercial operation by January 2029. This is South Korea's first large-scale offshore wind power project fully financed with domestic capital and the first to install 15-megawatt-class turbines. The project is jointly promoted by Korea Midland Power (한국중부발전), Hanwha Ocean (한화오션), SK Eternix (SK이터닉스), and Hyundai Engineering & Construction (현대건설). Currently, the largest operational offshore wind farm in South Korea is Jeju Hallim Offshore Wind Power (100.08 MW), and the largest under construction is Yeonggwang Nakwol Offshore Wind Power (364.8 MW).
40% of the total project investment, approximately 1.3 trillion Korean won, is raised through the National Growth Fund (Advanced Strategic Industry Fund (첨단전략산업기금) 750 billion won) and the Future Energy Fund (미래에너지펀드) (540 billion won). The shareholding structure is: Hanwha Ocean 26%, Korea Midland Power 19%, SK Eternix 10%, Hyundai Engineering & Construction 5%, and Future Energy Fund 40%. This financing model provides financial stability support for offshore wind power projects requiring large-scale initial investment.
Beyond the turbines, the substructures are supplied by Hyundai Steel Industry (현대스틸산업), submarine cables by LS Cable & System (LS전선), and installation vessels and offshore substations by Hanwha Ocean, with all core equipment sectors involving South Korean domestic companies. The turbines will consist of 26 units of 15-megawatt-class turbines from Denmark's Vestas. The project's annual power generation is approximately 1,062 GWh, sufficient to supply 300,000 households. Additionally, through mechanisms like the County Fund (군민펀드), residents will participate in the project and share in the power generation profits.
The Ministry of Climate Energy and Environment (기후에너지환경부) stated that the implementation of this project will simultaneously promote the expansion of the domestic industrial ecosystem and regional coexistence. Minister of Climate Energy and Environment Kim Sung-hwan (김성환) stated that the Sinan Uido offshore wind power project, driven purely by domestic capital, is a key project leading the supply of clean electricity and the strengthening of the domestic industrial ecosystem. He also expressed active support for the project to proceed as planned, contributing to the goal of commencing and completing 10.5 GW by 2030, and ensuring stable power supply for three major mega-projects in the Honam region, including artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and semiconductors.
Hanwha Ocean President Jeong In-seop (정인섭) stated that the company will leverage its offshore wind power experience to build a safe and efficient offshore wind farm. South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special Mayor Min Hyung-bae (민형배) stated that the clean electricity from this project will power the AI industry and semiconductor factories, and its benefits will be returned to the citizens.
