Hanwha Ocean Co. and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Corp. struck a partnership for offshore wind projects Monday, attempting to revive the troubled Sinan Ui wind farm after a state-owned utility withdrew over cost concerns.
The collaboration targets the 390-megawatt project off South Korea’s southwest coast, which carries an estimated price tag of 3.1 trillion won ($2.3 billion). Korea South-East Power exited the venture in January after government feasibility studies deemed it economically questionable due to rising material and construction costs.
Hanwha Ocean plans to construct a wind turbine installation vessel capable of handling 15-megawatt turbines, deploying it by early 2028. The shipbuilder, acquired by Hanwha Group for 2 trillion won in 2022, will lead supply chain activities including substructures and subsea cables.
The partnership reflects broader concerns about Chinese dominance in Korea’s nascent offshore wind sector. The government revised bidding criteria this year to prioritize domestic suppliers over foreign competitors offering lower prices with Chinese equipment.
Hanwha Ocean CEO Kim Hee-chul emphasized the need to strengthen the supply chain “from the initial stage of the market” to counter what the companies described as Chinese vessels operating in Korean waters under Korean flags.
Korea targets 14.3 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, up from just 200 megawatts currently deployed. Whether the partnership can address underlying cost pressures that prompted the state utility’s exit remains unclear, with construction scheduled to begin in October.
