Korea starts building $2.5 bil. offshore wind farm funded entirely by local capital

Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan speaks during a ground-breaking ceremony for the Shinan UI offshore wind farm at the Sinan National Sports Center in South Jeolla Province, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment

Korea broke ground Thursday on a 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) offshore wind farm, launching an ambitious effort to build a massive renewable energy sector funded entirely by domestic capital.

The 390-megawatt Shinan UI project, located off the coast of Sinan County in the country's southwestern South Jeolla Province, represents a strategic shift for East Asia's green transition. While major maritime wind developments in the region have historically relied on foreign technology and international finance, Korea is attempting to build this project using a homegrown financial coalition and a domestic industrial supply chain.

"This is the first large-scale offshore wind project driven entirely by domestic capital," Minister of Climate, Energy, and Environment Kim Sung-hwan said during the groundbreaking ceremony. "It is a critical step forward in securing the clean energy needed for our digital future, while simultaneously strengthening our domestic industrial ecosystem."

To finance the massive upfront costs, the project was selected as the inaugural investment of the state-backed National Growth Fund. Together with the Future Energy Fund, public-backed financing provided 1.3 trillion won — roughly 40 percent of the total budget — ensuring financial stability and a timely start to construction.

Scheduled to begin commercial operations in January 2029, the wind farm will feature 26 giant 15-megawatt turbines capable of generating 1,062 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity annually. According to government estimates, this output will power approximately 300,000 homes and provide a stable electricity supply for the region’s planned artificial intelligence data centers and semiconductor hubs.

A consortium of Korean firms, including Hanwha Ocean, SK eternix and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, is driving the construction. While the Danish manufacturer Vestas will supply the turbines, the rest of the infrastructure — including underwater cables and marine substations — will be built by domestic suppliers. Additionally, Hanwha Ocean is deploying an 800 billion won turbine installation vessel for the project. Local residents will also be allowed to invest directly in the project through a community fund, sharing in the financial profits of the clean energy transition.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.