South Korea to build world's largest offshore wind farm for 48.5 trillion won

South Korea unveiled a plan to build the world’s largest offshore wind power plant with a maximum capacity of 8.2 gigawatts at 48.5 trillion won as a major component of President Moon Jae-in’s Green New Deal.

The 8.2 GW capacity is equal to the energy produced by six nuclear reactors. The project's completion date is 2030.

The wind power project is expected to provide up to 5,600 jobs and help to boost the country’s wind power capacity from the current 1.67 GW to 16.5 GW by 2030.

To date, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea 1 in Britain, which has a 1.12 GW capacity.

Moon, which attended a signing ceremony in the southwestern coastal town of Sinan for the plant, said the project accelerates its eco-friendly energy transition and towards carbon neutrality.

Also in attendance were utility and engineering companies, including KEPCO, SK E&S, Hanwha E&C, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., CS Wind Corp, and Samkang M&T Co.
The companies will provide 47.6 trillion of the required funding and the government the remaining 0.9 trillion.

Under the Green New Deal, initiated to curb South Korea's reliance on fossil fuels, the country aims for carbon-neutral by 2050.