Korea Western Power pushes ahead with 500 MW Taean offshore wind complex by 2030

Korea Western Power, Vena Energy — the Asia-Pacific region's largest renewable energy developer and operator — and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a global green energy investment firm, will jointly develop a 500-megawatt offshore wind complex off the western coast of Taean in South Chungcheong Province.

The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy said the three companies signed a joint development agreement for the Taean offshore wind project Wednesday morning at Korea Electric Power Corp.'s South Seoul headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

The project aims to complete the 500 MW offshore wind complex off the western coast of Taean-gun by 2030. Once built, the complex is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 350,000 households for a year.

Korea Western Power's participation is expected to accelerate the project.

With the state-owned utility on board, the consortium can now use transmission capacity freed up after Taean Thermal Power Plant Unit 1 — a 500 MW coal-fired unit — was decommissioned at the end of last year. A small pier inside the Taean thermal plant will also be repurposed for maintaining and servicing the offshore wind installations.

The joint development is also expected to contribute to a "just transition" driven by the phaseout of coal-fired power plants.

Korea Western Power signed a separate MOU Wednesday with its labor union and CIP to provide two years of training to retrain workers from coal-fired power plants for roles in the offshore wind sector.

Korea Western Power plans to develop a total of 1.4 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity in the Taean area, with the Taean offshore wind project serving as the first phase.

Lee Jeong-bok, president of Korea Western Power, said the Taean offshore wind project is "a project that Korea Western Power has been preparing together with the local community for the past seven years," adding that it "will become a symbolic project that transforms Taean — a region centered on coal power — into a leading clean energy hub for South Korea." He added that the company plans "to build an offshore wind model that coexists with local residents and develop a 1.4-gigawatt clean energy complex, including follow-up projects in the Taean area, contributing to the nation's energy transition and revitalizing the local economy."

Kim Sung-hwan, minister of climate, environment and energy, said the government intends to stay on track with its target of installing and breaking ground on 10.5 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, while improving price competitiveness through economies of scale, strengthening the related industry ecosystem and expanding benefits felt by local communities. He added that the Taean offshore wind project "is an exemplary case of a just transition in a region where coal plants are being shut down," and that the government "will spare no policy support to ensure such cases continue to expand."