Total and Green Investment Group set to develop 2.3GW capacity in Korea

A deal signed by the Macquarie-owned Green Investment Group (GIG) and French oil and gas giant Total has committed both companies to five projects — three in Ulsan totalling 1.5GW and two in South Jeolla Province for 800MW.

Development work will kick off in autumn of 2020 once regulatory permits are secured.

The agreement comes as part of the Korean government’s New Deal plan and a target of 12GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Mark Dooley, global head of Macquarie’s GIG said: “Thanks in large part to the country’s world-class shipbuilding and marine plant infrastructure, GIG and Total see significant opportunities for floating offshore wind in Korea.”

CIG has already launched a wind data collection campaign, while construction of the first 500MW phase of the Ulsan project should start before the end of 2023.

As in investor and developer of green infrastructure, GIG has supported 16 offshore wind projects representing almost 5.5GW of capacity in construction and operations.

It also has a global development pipeline of more than 25GW, including 4.5GW of offshore wind development capacity across Asia.

The firm was also key in the development of Taiwan’s Formosa 1 and is heavily involved in delivering the Formosa 2 and 3 projects.

GIG recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Ulsan City ,18 organisations including local manufacturers Hesi and Unison, Korea East-West Power, Kepco-ENC, as well as R&D organisations such as Ulsan Techno Park and Ulsan University. 

The MoU commits to promoting floating offshore wind in Ulsan, the development of local technology and new jobs.

Total has been active in South Korea for more than 30 years and now has 5GW of operational renewable energy capacity worldwide.

Julien Pouget, senior vice-president for renewables at Total, said: “South Korea benefits from a unique set of competencies and assets to become one of the leading players in the floating offshore wind sector.”

The oil and gas major has targeted the acquisition of 25GW of renewable generation capacity by 2025.

In 2019, Macquaries’ Green Investment Group (GIG) unveiled a 1.4GW Korean offshore project and deployed a floating lidar at the site last summer.