BadaEnergy, a portfolio of offshore wind projects in South Korea jointly developed by Corio Generation, TotalEnergies and SK ecoplant, has announced it has selected Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) as the preferred bidder for the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) of its 504MW Gray Whale 3 floating offshore wind farm in the country.
In August last year, the South Koprean outfit chose HHI and Doris Engineering consortium as Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contractor to perform services for floater, mooring and inter-array cables.
HHI is now collaborating in a task force with the BadaEnergy team and Vestas, which has been selected as Preferred Wind Turbines Supplier for the site, to continue optimising design and industrialising the execution plan of the fabrication of the 33 hulls, the integration of the turbines and their installation at the floater.
The Ulsan floating offshore wind cluster of Gray Whale 1, 2 and 3 projects will be a 1.5GW complex sited about 60km east of Ulsan Port, with construction planned from 2025 ahead of a commercial operation date of 2028.
With the selection of the preferred bidder, BadaEnergy said it will be able to rapidly implement its strategy of localising all stages of offshore wind projects.
BadaEnergy also relocated its office to a larger one in Songjeong-dong, Buk-gu, Ulsan, in order to facilitate faster and more efficient communication with local municipalities, local stakeholders and local supply chains for the project.
The ceremony (pictured) to mark the opening of BadaEnergy’s new Ulsan office was attended by 50 guests from offshore wind industry in Ulsan, including the Ulsan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, HHI, Vestas, and local supply chains.
“We believe this is one of the most significant milestones in our great journey towards floating offshore wind,” said BadaEnergy’s co-representative director Woojin Choi.
“To achieve the global net-zero target by 2050, more than 2000GW of offshore wind projects need to be built globally (which represents a market of KRW12,000tn), with the majority being floating offshore wind.
“Korea’s supply chain participating in our floating offshore wind projects will have an excellent opportunity to enter the global floating offshore wind market.
Also, we believe our floating offshore wind projects in Ulsan will help Ulsan City achieve its net zero targets and be designated as a Special District for Distributed Energy, attracting innovative companies that require a renewable energy source for electricity.”
Gray Whale 3’s Project Director Guillaume Le Maréchal said: “TotalEnergies and HHI have built a strong partnership by carrying out a variety of projects in the oil and gas sector since 2000, and based on this mutual trust, HHI has successfully performed FEED work, bolstering a win-win partnership.
“As it happened 25 years ago with Oil and Gas, we are convinced that the floating offshore wind project in Ulsan will serve as an example of a revival of the local economy and the best practice of Korea’s technological prowess being widely recognized overseas, by creating synergy with local companies centred on Ulsan to establish local supply chain of offshore wind.”
HHI’s Head of Sales Operations Seung-yong Park added: “We are very pleased to have been selected as the preferred EPC bidder in one of the world’s largest floating offshore wind projects.
“With our accumulated experience and technologies, HHI will make every effort to ensure the Gray Whale 3 project’s success and the establishment of future energy ecosystem.”
Country Manager of Vestas Korea Srdan Cenic said: “We are honoured to have been selected as the preferred turbine supplier and collaborate with BadaEnergy and HHI for the Gray Whale 3 floating offshore wind project.
“We will deliver the unparalleled competitiveness of Vestas’ technology combined with our experience in floating wind project execution to make sure an optimal deployment of offshore wind and strengthen customers’ business case for the project.”
