Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and Equinor ASA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly explore the opportunities to develop commercial floating offshore wind in South Korea, Equinor said in a news release Feb. 15.

“South Korea has large potential and offers attractive opportunities within offshore wind,” Stephen Bull, senior vice president for Wind and Low Carbon in New Energy Solutions in Equinor, said in the release.

He added, “We look forward to evaluate how we can further expand our portfolio within offshore wind and contribute to develop renewable energy solutions in South Korea.”

South Korea is transitioning its nuclear- and coal- dominant energy mix to renewable energy. The proportion of renewable energy in power generation is set to increase to 20% by 2030, which translates to a target of 49 gigawatts of new renewable generation capacity by 2030, Equinor said.

“Executing a MoU with Equinor will become a critical opportunity that will advance to practical steps of floating offshore wind in Korea,” Jae-Heon Shim, senior vice president at KNOC, said in the release. “We plan to actively focus on progress and de-risking studies including feasibility studies in collaboration with Equinor. We will make every endeavor to meet the government initiative and create lasting values for local communities.”

KNOC, which is wholly owned by the South Korean state, is launching a new business by developing floating offshore wind. The company plans to develop a 200-megawatt floating offshore wind project at its existing Donghae platform 58 km off the coast of Ulsan City.

Offshore