SK Ocean Plant Selected as Preferred Negotiator to Supply Floaters for KF Wind Floating Offshore Wind Project

Participation in the East Blue Power Project
Production Planned at the Third Plant in Goseong, Gyeongnam

KF Wind, one of the floating offshore wind power projects in Ulsan, was selected as the preferred negotiator. The photo shows Kim Junghoon, Head of Marketing and PM Center at SK Ocean Plant (right), and Park Jangho, Head of Business at KF Wind (left), posing for a commemorative photo at the agreement ceremony held at the KF Wind office in Ulsan. SK Ocean Plant
Photo by SK Ocean Plant

SK Ocean Plant (CEO Kang Youngkyu) announced on May 6 that it has been selected as the preferred negotiator to supply floating substructures (floaters) for KF Wind, one of Ulsan’s floating offshore wind power projects.

With this selection, SK Ocean Plant will participate as the main domestic manufacturer responsible for the entire production process of floating substructures for the East Blue Power (EBP) project, which is being promoted by KF Wind. These floaters are planned to be produced at the company’s third plant (new yard) in Goseong, Gyeongnam, which is scheduled for completion in 2028.

SK Ocean Plant has previously supplied fixed substructures for major offshore wind power projects in Taiwan, Japan, Europe, and Korea. The company expects that, with this preferred bidder designation, it will be able to further strengthen its position in the floating offshore wind sector as well.

A company representative stated, “Going forward, we plan to expand our business opportunities not only in domestic projects, including KF Wind, but also in the global floating offshore wind market, such as Europe, through cooperation with Ocean Winds, a shareholder of KF Wind.”

KF Wind is currently carrying out the development of a floating offshore wind farm with a total capacity of 1,125 megawatts (MW) in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) about 80 kilometers off the coast of Ulsan, which includes the KF Wind (KFW1,2) and East Blue Power (EBP) projects.

Upon completion, it is expected to generate approximately 4,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year. This would account for about 12% of Ulsan’s annual electricity demand and would provide enough power for approximately 1 million households.

Ocean Winds, a shareholder of KF Wind, is a company specializing in offshore wind power, established as a joint venture between global energy firms EDP Renewables (EDPR) and ENGIE. It is currently developing, constructing, and operating 19 offshore wind projects in eight countries worldwide, including Korea.

In addition, through the WindFloat Atlantic project in Portugal, Ocean Winds succeeded in commercializing the world’s first semi-submersible floating offshore wind technology.

Kang Youngkyu, CEO of SK Ocean Plant, said, “It is very meaningful to participate in Korea’s flagship floating offshore wind project together with KF Wind, led by the world-class offshore wind leader Ocean Winds. Based on our status as the largest offshore wind manufacturing base in Korea and our differentiated production capabilities, we will contribute to building a K-floating industry ecosystem that grows together with the local industry.”

Park Jangho, General Manager of the KF Wind project, stated, “SK Ocean Plant is a company with proven technical capabilities in large structure manufacturing and quality control, making it a key partner for building a safe and efficient supply chain. Through this collaboration, Korea’s floating offshore wind industry, centered around the Ulsan region, will gain global competitiveness.”

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