Korea’s shipbuilding, steel, cable companies bet on offshore wind power

A rendering of Samsung Heavy Industries Co.’s wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) [Photo provided by Samsung Heavy Industries]

South Korea’s mid- to large-sized companies engaged in shipbuilding, steelmaking and cable manufacturing are turning attention to the rapidly growing offshore wind power market in hopes to develop a new growth engine.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on Wednesday, offshore wind power capacity, which was only 34 gigawatts in 2020, is expected to grow to 228 gigawatts in 2030 and exceed 1,000 gigawatts in 2050. The cumulative investment in the installation and development of offshore wind power is estimated at $2.75 trillion.

In this context, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is also committed to boosting offshore wind power generation. In 2021, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy set a plan to increase offshore wind power generation to 12 gigawatts by 2030 and 20 gigawatts by 2034 from 0.124 gigawatts on belief that it is more efficient than onshore wind power in a small country surrounded by the sea on three sides.

Not only energy companies but also shipbuilding, steel and cable sectors are eyeing offshore wind power as a new, emerging market. POSCO International Corp. will build a 300-megawatt offshore wind farm in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, by 2027. The company also aims to participate in the offshore wind project in the East Sea. It plans to increase power generation by more than 30 times the current level to 2 gigawatts by 2030.

POSCO Holdings Inc. is also supplying steel materials, such as steel pipes, to offshore wind farms. Recently, it supplied substructure materials for an offshore wind farm in the U.K. In general, 200 to 300 tons of steel per megawatt are used to build one offshore wind floating structure. “There is growing demand for steel with long fatigue life as structures become larger and the offshore wind market expands,” said a POSCO official.

The shipbuilding industry is expanding business into offshore wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) and offshore wind floats. Samsung Heavy Industries Co. has won WTIV orders since 2010. In 2021, the company succeeded in developing its own models for WTIVs and offshore wind floats.

Hanwha Ocean Co. is leading the market with four WTIV orders. “The WTIV we are currently building will be the world’s first smart WTIV,” the company said. “We are applying domestic smart ship technology to WTIVs for the first time.”

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. has also entered the offshore wind power market. It is supplying marine engines and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for WTIVs. It has also developed a 15-megawatt Korean-style offshore wind float model and participated in creating the offshore wind farms in Jeju and Ulsan. Clarkson Research predicts that WTIV orders will increase by 44 percent to 23 this year from 16 in 2020.

The cable industry is also benefiting from the rise of offshore wind power. LS Cable & System Ltd. won orders for ultra-high voltage submarine cables from offshore wind farm projects in Taiwan. The contract value alone exceeds 1 trillion won ($765.3 million). In Korea, the company is working with Hanwha Corp. on a project to build a 400-megawatt offshore wind farm in Sinan.