SK Innovation E&S Completes South Korea's Largest Privately-Led Wind Power Project in Sinan

96MW Capacity
Annual Production Expected to Reach 300 Million kWh

Offshore wind farm located in Sinan County, Jeollanam-do.

The largest privately-led offshore wind power project in South Korea has officially begun operations on Jaeundo Island, Sinan County, Jeollanam-do. On December 11, SK Innovation E&S announced that it held a completion ceremony for the “Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power Phase 1” at the Ramada Plaza Hotel on Jaeundo Island.

The event was attended by Kim Seonghwan, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment; Kim Youngrok, Governor of Jeollanam-do; Kim Daein, Acting Mayor of Sinan County; Lee Jongsu, CEO of SK Innovation E&S; and Thomas Wibe Poulsen, Asia-Pacific Representative of CIP, as well as officials from relevant agencies and companies.

Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Seonghwan is delivering a congratulatory speech at the completion ceremony of the country's largest private-led offshore wind power project. Photo by Jeong Seunghyun

The Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power Phase 1 is a 96MW fixed offshore wind farm located about 9 kilometers northwest off the coast of Jaeundo Island, Sinan County, Jeollanam-do. It is the largest offshore wind power project in South Korea led by the private sector. The site is equipped with ten large-scale 9.6MW wind turbines, capable of producing approximately 300 million kWh of electricity annually. This output is sufficient to supply about 90,000 households for a year and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 240,000 tons per year compared to coal-fired power generation.

This project was promoted through Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power Co., jointly established in 2020 by SK Innovation E&S and global energy investment firm CIP. After receiving a power generation business license in 2017, the project secured permits for the use of public waters and implementation plans in 2022. Construction began in March 2023, with turbine installation completed in December last year, and commercial operations commenced in May this year.

Notably, this project is recognized as the first in South Korea’s renewable energy sector to introduce non-recourse project financing (PF). By raising funds based solely on the creditworthiness and profitability of the power generation business, without collateral from shareholders, it is expected to pave the way for further private investment in renewable energy.

SK Innovation E&S and CIP plan to complete environmental impact assessments for Phases 2 and 3 by the first half of next year, with construction targeted to begin by the end of 2027. Their goal is to complete a large-scale offshore wind power complex with a total capacity of 900MW-equivalent to a nuclear power plant-by 2031.

This project also adopts a resident participation model, sharing a portion of the power generation profits with residents of Sinan County. At the end of October, Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power distributed its first profits to the resident cooperative, and ongoing profit-sharing is expected to contribute to increasing local income.

Lee Jongsu, CEO of SK Innovation E&S, stated, “The completion of Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power Phase 1 marks a milestone that will drive the advancement of South Korea’s offshore wind power industry. We will continue to develop this as a leading example that contributes to carbon neutrality, regional coexistence, and the expansion of renewable energy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.