Equinor’s purpose is to turn natural resources into energy for people, and progress for society.
We’re a broad energy company with more than 21,000 colleagues committed to providing affordable energy for societies worldwide and taking a leading role in the energy transition.
Korea is transforming its energy mix from fossil power to renewable energy. The share of renewable energy in its power production is estimated to increase to 20% by 2030.
As a global offshore wind major and a leading developer of floating offshore wind, we see strong potential for offshore wind in Korea and consider the country to be an essential market for floating offshore wind going forward.
Equinor is developing a portfolio up to 4-6 GW pipeline of offshore wind projects at different maturity levels in South Korea. You can read more about our most mature projects - Firefly and Donghae1 - below.
Equinor has been in Korea since 2014 and has been working with local suppliers for many years to support the construction of large platforms and vessels in Korean shipyards. These include:
The Ulsan Floating Offshore Wind Power Association (hereinafter referred to as the DC5) announced on the 10th that five developers have signed a contract with Korea Electric Power Corporation (hereinafter referred to as KEPCO) for the use of the world’s largest 6GW floating offshore wind power transmission electrical facilities.
University of Ulsan (President Oh Yeon-cheon) and Equinor’s Ulsan floating offshore wind power project corporation, Bandibuli Energy, signed a 1 billion won regional industry development funding agreement at Equinor’s Fornebu Office in Oslo, Norway on August 20. Through this, the two parties agreed to strengthen their joint research and development cooperation.
We deliver energy to millions of people worldwide. Safe and responsible operations are essential for our licence to operate and to enable long-term value creation.
Equinor has a long tradition for co-operation and engagement with local communities within both offshore oil and gas developments and in offshore wind.
Equinor is planning to develop and construct up to 800 MW floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Ulsan. The Bandibuli/Firefly wind farm is planned for an area of 2 x 75 km2 approximately 70 km off the coast of Ulsan and will be one of the world’s largest floating offshore wind farms when completed.
Equinor signed a general collaboration Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with all developers and Ulsan city in May 2019. Equinor has a strong belief in developing floating offshore wind in this area and we intend to foster the floating offshore wind industry infrastructure in response to the South Korean government's renewable energy policy. We obtained the electricity business licence for the Firefly project from South Korean authorities in early December 2021.
Together with Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and Korea East-West Power (EWP) Company, we have the ambition to develop the 200 MW Donghae1 floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Ulsan in Korea.
The wind farm is located within a 75 km2 area, 60 km off the coast.
To date, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as well as a cooperation agreement with KNOC and EWP. We have completed a feasibility study for the project, including the collection of wind data from the offshore area. The consortium was granted the electric business licence for the Donghae1 project early December 2021.
In the South we are in the early stages of developing a further 1.5 GW of offshore wind which we aim to progress through close collaboration with relevant authorities, stakeholders, and partners.
We believe floating offshore wind is the next wave in renewable energy.
Floating offshore wind is the next generation of offshore wind turbines. Designed to float, they can be placed further out to sea where winds are usually stronger and steadier.
Floating turbines can be placed almost anywhere where the water is deep enough, harnessing the best wind resources and reducing conflicts with other ocean users.
Equinor believes that maintaining a strong relationship with high-quality suppliers will enable us to maintain competitiveness over time. We choose suppliers who operate in accordance with our values, and maintain high standards for health, safety and environment (HSE), ethics and corporate social responsibility.
Major infrastructure developments like our Firefly and Donghae1 wind farm projects off the coast of Ulsan, bring a wide range of economic development opportunities for businesses, and create jobs, which generates a range of positive impacts for the local communities. We are committed to working with local companies and for our Firefly wind farm project, local suppliers like Sekwang and the marine survey company GeoView are already delivering to the project.
If you want to know more about how to become a supplier to Equinor in South Korea, contact us on email: UlsanFOW@equinor.com
More information can be found here:
Equinor welcomes feedback from local stakeholders and those working in our supply chain.
Email:Â UlsanFOW@equinor.com
Busan | 22F, 79 Centum Jungang-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea [48058] | Tel : +82 (0)10 8323 5480
Ulsan | #536-539, 406-21 Jongga-ro, Jung-gu, Ulsan, South Korea [44429] | Tel : +82 (0)52 242 1907
Seoul | 22F, Mirae Asset Center1 – East wing, Eulji-ro 5-gil 26, Jung-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea [04539]